


Agents of SHIELD ReMix: Framework

by fallensoldier420



Series: Agents of SHIELD Re:Mix Ft. Mick Bellouve [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Mick Bellouve/ Recluse, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26092858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallensoldier420/pseuds/fallensoldier420
Summary: Mick wakes up to find himself in a world completely different, one in which HYDRA has won.Everything feels off, but he doesn't quite know why. It doesn't matter because he still has a job to do.He has to stop SHIELD and protect the HYDRA order, or does he?12/21/20(Project Framework is complete, minus some edits for typo’s or phrasing!)
Series: Agents of SHIELD Re:Mix Ft. Mick Bellouve [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875403
Kudos: 2





	1. Enter the Framework

Mick gasped in pain, completely in disbelief that Aida, Fitz’ humanoid creation would attack him. His arms were completely numb, which prevented him from rolling over to defend himself, and his legs felt broken. She reached down, rolling him over, looking into his eyes. It was astounding just how human Aida looked. Her hazel eyes, had an humanistic spark to them, as did her slightly curly brown hair, the care and attention to detail Fitz put into building her was simply amazing, at least it would be in any other situation. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you,” Aida said in a frighteningly calm voice, rubbing the blood from the side of Mick’s face.  
“Yeah, that’s a relief,” Mick groaned as he struggled to breathe.  
“You won’t even realize you’re injured. I’m actually going to save you.” She sounded so sure of her plan, leaving Mick slightly confused.  
“Save me? You tried to kill me!”  
“I’m going to save you from your torment. Leopold told me all about how much you suffer over the loss of your first love, as well as your feelings for Daisy Johnson.”  
“He told you about that did it? How do you plan to save me from that then”  
“I’m going to give you a new life, one that will make you happy,” Aida said in a strangely soothing voice while stirring something into a small cup. She looked over at Mick with a discomforting smile. “Drink this, and you’ll feel so much better.” She pushed the cup against Mick’s lips as the cold liquid surprised him. She pinched his nose, until he opened his mouth forcing him to drink.  
“What did you do to me?” Mick started to ask only to have his words trail off as everything went black. 

Mick’s eyes fluttered open, seeing the morning sun shimmering through the blinds. He threw his arm over his face wishing for more sleep until he heard the shower running. He sprung up in his bed, seeing the messy room, with female clothes sprawled across the floor. He looked around curiously trying to recollect himself, when a familiar woman stepped out of the bathroom with a pillar of steam behind her. He light brown hair dripping on her white tank, her loose sweatpants barely sitting on her hips, and that all to familiar face. His heart fluttered with joy seeing her standing there, but at the same time he felt an unbearable pain.  
He looked her over, amazed at just how beautiful she was, and the wave of memories pouring into his mind. Their graduation, the night he finally broke down and proposed under a starry sky on the beach, and finally the big kiss on their wedding day. “What’s with your goofy expression?” Samantha asked as Mick smiled.  
“I missed you,” Mick said as she stared at him with a coy grin.  
“Seriously? You’re sweet, but don’t be weird. I just needed a shower, we have a big day today.”  
“Huh?”  
“We’ve got to investigate the lead your friend Grant found! Those S.H.I.E.L.D. dorks won’t know what him them!” Mick stared blankly as something felt very wrong, albeit briefly. Another wave of memories rushed over him; he worked for Hydra along with his friend Grant Ward and his girlfriend Daisy Johnson. They were part of an elite unit under Melinda May. They were called the Hunters, they sought out rouges who would dare to stand against Hydra, after all Hydra did save the world, making it a more peaceful place.  
“Right, sorry. I’m just feeling pretty scatterbrained this morning.”  
Mick quickly got dressed into his Hydra issued suit, being mostly a black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, with a golden Hydra pin on his collar. After finishing up by spiking his hair, he walked out to see Sam shaking her head. She was in black dress pants, with a white shirt baring the same Hydra pin. “You take longer than I do to get ready!” She teased as they embraced, then kissed.  
“But I look nice, right?” He asked as Sam smiled and bit her lip before passionately kissing him once again, only to be interrupted by Mick’s phone buzzing in his pocket.  
“This is Mick,” he answered as Sam frowned as Mick walked toward the door with a serious expression. With a loud sigh, he turned back to Sam. “There was another SHIELD insurgent attack near a school, Boss wants us there now.”  
“Ugh, why attack a school? For people who claim to protect others, they sure show it all kinds of crazy.” Sam said as Mick grabbed the keys from the hanger by the door, holding it open for Sam then leaving the apartment.


	2. The Job at Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hunter's begin their investigation of the school bombing under their lead, Melinda May.

After a quick ride on Mick’s motorcycle the two arrived on the scene, seeing smoke billowing up from the back of the school. Both students and faculty lined the parking lot, covered in soot, crying while getting bandaged by first responders. “This is terrible.” Sam gasped as they looked around mortified.   
“How could anyone do something so terrible?” Mick muttered as they walked over toward Melinda May, who was speaking with an enforcer, which were only partial step ups from police.   
“Thank you, we’ll take it from here.” May said as the enforcer nodded, before walking away. “It’s about time you two showed up. Ward and Johnson are doing a parameter sweep, I want you two checking for clues as to what really happened.”   
“What do we have to go on so far?” Sam asked as May frowned as she looked around at the paramedics patching up the injured civi’s.   
“Sounds like a rogue group, bombs aren’t typically SHIELD MO, but we can’t put anything passed them given their recent attacks,” May stated coldly.  
“You’re right. We’ll get right to work, Boss,” Mick said as he turned toward the school.   
“Are you going to be ok if it’s really them, again?” May asked as Mick froze in place. His memories rushed back to the moment when everything changed.   
It was back in 2007, when Mick was a senior. A Hydra recruitment officer had been sent out, recruiting Mick and his fiancé Sam due to their unique powers and fighting skills against known Shield agent, Grant Reigns. He told his two best friends about the opportunity, only to have them completely disapprove. A few years passed before they would cross paths again, he was on a recon mission with Agent Ward, when Mick saw them working with known SHIELD operative, Grayson Harris. Mick, in disbelief that his best friends would join such a terrible organization but longing to keep them safe, hid the identity of them from Ward. Jerren had to be the one building tech for them, with Patten and Davis clearly operatives.   
“Hun, you okay?” Sam asked startling him as she grabbed his shoulders.  
“Yeah, sorry, I’m out of it today,” Mick said with a frown.   
“Get it together Bellouve. I need you on full focus, someone has to avenge these people,” May stayed as Mick nodded.   
“Right, if it’s them, I’ll bring them down this time. Things like this can’t be forgiven,” Mick growled with clenched fists.

Mick and Sam hastily walked with May as she led the way to ground zero. The damage was incredibly terrifying. Black soot outlined the crater where concrete once was. Countless windows were shattered, some broken. There were shotgun like holes plastered on the surrounding walls. Charred remains of plants in broken planters spoke volumes to the peace that this place once held. “This is where students could eat lunch or relax between classes,” May said as Mick shook his head in disgust.   
“I can’t believe anyone would do this,” Mick stammered as he knelt down trying to picture this place before the explosion.  
“I’ve seen damage like this before, only once though,” Sam said using her icy powers to extinguish a few remaining flames.   
“I’ve seen it before too, that Shield training facility,” Mick murmured as May watched them carefully.   
“I wasn’t referring to that,” Sam said grimacing at the very bloody memories of that day. “I meant with Viral, do we know what officially happened with him?”   
“Last thing I remember is his twisted face falling from the top of Davin Tower into the Hudson River,” Mick sneered as he picked up a few pieces of mangled steel before bobbling it around because of the heat still lingering.   
“He’s dead, why are we talking about this?” May interjected as Mick turned to Sam.   
“This just reminds me of the way he destroyed the old Denham Springs High School,” Sam said as May shook her head. 

Mick continued to look around in silence until he found an ID badge lodged in the wall. He examined it, barely able to make out the picture of a very young girl with frizzy brown hair through the scratches from the bricks. “You think this is bad, you should’ve seen it before they picked up the bodies,” a masculine voice from behind startled Mick.   
“Ward!” Mick smirked as the two locked arms, as if it had been ages since they had seen each other. Mick felt a pinprick in his heart as he smiled at Ward once they separated, he wasn’t quite sure why, but seeing Ward caused an ounce of pain.   
“Yeah, it was pretty messy back here, two students looked like shotgun target practice, one was missing an arm!” Another familiar voice came from behind Ward.   
“Do you have to be so graphic?” Sam teased as Skye walked around Ward with her sarcastic smile, her dark hair bouncing in her usual ponytail, and her brown eyes shimmered in the sunlight.   
“Call ‘em like I see ‘em,” Skye said as the girls embraced. “Congrats on another successful anniversary you two! Where’d he take you last night?” Skye started as May cleated her throat. “Right, work first.”  
“There was a trail of blood leading to the fence, but whoever took off that way was picked up by what I suspect was a team,” Ward had his serious tone, which was polar opposite to his girlfriend and partner Skye. They were almost as inseparable as Mick and Sam, but neither were ready to buckle down and commit beyond a basic level.   
“So it very well could have been SHIELD?” May asked intently as Ward frowned.   
“There was also a girl back in the woods with a SHIELD badge, she hate some serious gun wounds. We brought her to the paramedics, that’s what took us so long,” Skye replied as May stared at the two skeptically.   
“I’ll check on this lead, see if the four of you can get any information on the type of bomb used.”  
“Yes Ma’am” the four replied after May had already turned away.


	3. Flimsy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick and his friends continue their investigation of the school bombing, trying to uncover the truth about the remnants of SHIELD and their rebellion, or perhaps a much darker one regarding HYDRA?

May didn’t return to check on them, which only lead to the girls leaving Mick and Ward as to piece together the puzzle. “You’ve only been picking up those small bits, why?” Ward asked as Mick looked at the varying sized metal chunks as if he were a scientist.  
“Either they were inside the bomb as shrapnel, or they were the casing. I was hoping maybe if I gathered enough of them I could figure it out. Sort of like putting together a puzzle, at least in theory.”  
“Since when did you study explosives?” Ward asked with a look of surprise.   
“I’ve seen so many shows that do this kind of stuff, so I figured I could do it too,” Mick said with a sarcastic grin.   
“Really?” Ward sounded exasperated, as Mick turned to see him smirking.   
“It was worth a shot. Sam is the brains, I just sneak around punching and webbing things,” Mick admitted as they laughed. This was the typical Ward, he was relaxed when May wasn’t around, usually a very pleasant guy once you get past the intimidating appearance. However, he was also the most serious one when it came to getting the job done. 

Mick had begun holding pieces of metal together, piecing the few that fit together with webs, the two men staring at the almost shaped cylinder like object before them. “Huh, I didn’t think that would work,” Mick was pretty in impressed with his handy work.  
“Neither did I,” Ward said just as shocked.   
“Awe, look at that, he figured it out! I’m so proud of you babe!” Sam said waking out of the door, tossing a canned soda at Mick, with Skye doing the same for Ward.   
“We figured you’d be making soot castles or something goofy like that,” Skye smirked as Ward shook his head.   
“No, we were working while you two were running your mouths,” Ward said as Skye shot him a look, before sitting down pulling out her mini laptop from her bag she was carrying.   
“Actually; we were running simulations of the explosion using pictures I took before the medics showed up and mixed it with the security footage,” Skye gloated as she showed them the animation, which was quite impressive.   
They watched as a hooded person walked into the crowded center of the garden like area, dropped a backpack pretty suspiciously, then pressed a few buttons on some kind of device on their arm, causing the camera to go into a fuzzy screen. The video shifted into a rendering of the area, when the pack exploded it showed the large area of shrapnel as well as a large mushroom cloud of fire, turning all of the make shift people red that would’ve been injured, which was more than Mick could even count. “But wait, if the blast was that big, how come there aren’t any scorch marks on the buildings?” Ward asked as he pointed at the bricks of the surrounding buildings.   
“And a lot more casualties,” Mick added.  
“That’s the part we were stuck on, we wanted to see if you two could help work that out,” Skye responded.   
“Maybe it didn’t go off quite as planned?” Ward suggested as Mick stood up walking to the edge of the crater before jumping down, then brushing his fingers in the powder that he once assumed was concrete mixing with who knows what at this point. He smelled his fingers, then crinkled his nose as the bitter smell of unfamiliar chemicals burned his nostrils.   
“They didn’t use typical explosives. I don’t know what this stuff is, but I know that it’s not gunpowder,” Mick called as Sam walked over curiously.   
“Can you get me a clean sample? Maybe we can test it at the lab,” Sam suggested then tossed Mick a sealed test kit handed to her by Skye.   
“Ward, you said it was a team, but that guy, he didn’t look like SHIELD to me, what about you?” Mick asked as he swabbed the area around him that he didn’t touch yet.   
“It’s too messy for them, they attack in much more calculated manners,” Ward stared as Mick frowned.   
“If it wasn’t SHIELD, then who would do something like this?” Skye asked as she glanced between Mick and Ward.   
“Maybe this stuff can tell is,” Mick said tossing the pack up to Ward.  
“Hydra did make a lot of enemies from the followers of SHIELD, but why attack a school and not a Hydra base?” Ward asked as Sam took the pack, sliding it into her purse.   
“I guess we’ll get answers soon. Want to grab lunch before we head to the lab?” Sam asked as Skye nodded.   
“Sounds good to me,” Mick said as Ward helped him out of the crater.  
For a moment on the road, in a passing car, Mick could’ve sworn he saw Jerren and Davis, but he wasn’t sure enough to say anything. He debated on turning around and chasing them to find out for sure, but he didn’t want to worry Ward who was following him with Sam and Skye in his black Jeep. If it is them, then why would they risk getting caught now? They have to know we’d be investigating, Patten is too smart of a strategist to lead a team into such a dangerous situation. Mick knew his old friends better than anyone would, or he wanted to believe that. Something just wasn’t sitting right, Skye said a SHIELD recruit was shot, why would they leave one of their own? Mick shook his head, giving up on solving the situation for the moment, instead focusing on getting a juicy burger from Big Easy Sports Bar. 

As Mick walked in, he grabbed a booth, only for Sam to run to the restroom, leaving only Skye to join him for the moment. He looked at her, his heart fluttered for a moment. He knew Skye fairly well after all of their time spent working together, but something felt off, he could have sworn there was an unusual attraction he felt toward her, which was extremely off putting considering he had never looked at her in that way. He had the perfect girl already in Samantha. “Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?” Skye asked pulling Mick back from his strange thoughts.   
“I-uh,” Mick stammered as he shook his head unsure of how to answer.   
“Thinking about last night I’m sure,” she said with a sly grin and wink.   
“What?” Mick blurred out, turning as red as the ketchup bottle on the table as Skye laughed.  
“Don’t worry she didn’t give me all the juicy details, just that you were super romantic about everything,” Skye teased as Mick slumped down in his seat.  
“Are you two ready to order?” Mick had never been so grateful for a waitress to arrive in his life. 

Mick watched as Sam worked, fascinated by her sheer brilliance. In the lab she seemed at peace, whereas in the field she was clearly uncomfortable. That wasn’t always the case though. She was always quick to use her powers and fight by Mick’s side until one mission, the one mission she hates talking about. The Doctor had sent them to destroy an abandoned SHIELD facility, but it turned out to be a stronghold. They had kids of varying ages, which were presumed to be SHIELD operatives, some were much worse, they were Inhumans seeking asylum with the enemy.   
Mick and Sam were chosen to go with a black ops team to clear the place, only for it to be a slaughter. The SHIELD numbers were overwhelming combined with their team of Inhumans put them extremely outmatched. Mick and Sam barely escaped the bloody battle when the reinforcements arrived. The worse part of it all, the part that haunted Mick, there was a girl with bouncing brown hair, sweet brown eyes, and about their age, begging Mick and Sam to join SHIELD and stop Hydra. Refusing to kill, Sam urged her to come with them not even join Hydra, just leave the facility. The girl then tried to fight them, it was clear she wasn’t trained for combat, but Sam still tried to save her until the girl surprisingly got the upper hand. She had Sam on the ground a holding a knife to her throat threatening to kill Sam if they refused to join her. Mick didn’t have a choice, as bad as he wanted to save this girl, he had to save Sam. It was the only time he fatally shot a person.   
Sam was upset for weeks, the whole thing had shaken her to the core, Mick as well. That was his biggest regret since joining Hydra, her name was one he’d never forget; Jemma Simmons.

Sam began to cheer as she looked over her work. “It wasn’t meant to be a fireball! This was designed as an injury inducing bomb! This powder must’ve been in the backpack!” Sam exclaimed as she pulled up results on the hologram. She then began spouting things that were very much over Mick’s head using chemical formula’s and such. “Sorry, I know, I get a little carried away when I get excited. Can you grab Grant and Skye, I need to run some simulations with their info.”   
With a nod Mick left the lab, only to see Skye standing in the large foyer. “Where’s Ward?” Mick asked as Daisy spun around trying to hide her cup behind her back.   
“He’s following a lead, said he’d be back later,” Skye said as Mick shrugged.   
“Sam wants to run her findings with your simulation, I think I’m going to check a few leads as well,” Mick said as Skye walked passed him continuing to keep her cup out of sight. “You know, I don’t care if you drink on the job, but just don’t get caught by May.”   
“What? Me break the rules, never,” Skye’s tone couldn’t have been more sarcastic if she tried. 

Mick stepped out of HQ, staring up at the evening sky. He couldn’t quite shake the feeling that everything felt off, even the sky seemed wrong in some way. He brushed his hands through his hair, forgetting just how strong his gel was. “I’ve got to know if it was them, it’s going to drive me crazy,” he said to himself as his bike roared to life. The school’s parking lot was empty now, which wasn’t surprising, but a good operative wouldn’t park in an obvious spot. Mick followed the fence line until he reached the thicket of woods that Ward had told him about. He then glanced up at the tree’s with a sense of nostalgia. He hadn’t used his webbing to swing through tree’s since he was a kid, but to get a good drop on anyone, he’d have to stay off the ground. 

He swiftly navigated through the tree branches, until he noticed a jet black car tucked away with a man staring at a laptop set up on the hood. A warmth filled his heart as he started at the man. His untidy black hair with a hint of grays, his husky build, Mick recognized him with ease. “You can come down now,” Patten’s deep voice called out as Mick froze. “Yes Mick, I’m talking to you.”   
Mick jumped down as Patten turned to him. “How did you know?”   
“You triggered an alarm on my drones when you parked your bike,” Patten explained as Mick frowned.   
“Should’ve guessed you’d have a parameter set up.”   
“Yeah, you should have,” Patten remarked turning back to his laptop. “What do you want? Here to turn us in to your precious Hydra?”   
“No, I’m here to see why you would attack a school. Depending on your answer, then I’ll decide what to do next.”   
“We didn’t attack the school, we’re here trying to figure out who did.” Mick was taken back by the statement. He paced around a few times wrestling if that could be true, before groaning.  
“Sam said the explosives weren’t enough to cause that damage,” Mick started only to pause hearing snapping twigs.   
“She’s right, the bomb was a decoy,” Davis said emerging from the woods with Jerren right behind him.   
“It was a set up, the dust was mixed with terrigen, and I’d bet the messenger was a suspected Inhuman,” Jerren said as he refused to look at Mick.   
“But who would do something like that?” Mick asked as he began pacing once more.  
“As if it’s even a question Mick! Freaking Hydra!” Davis barked as Mick spun around glaring at him.   
“No! Hydra doesn’t just attack like that! We put Inhumans in a facility called Asylum!” Mick growled as he and Davis braced for a fight.   
“Have you been to Asylum, Mick?” Jerren asked as Mick looked at him curiously.   
“No, why would I go there? I’m-“   
“Close enough to Inhuman,” Davis interrupted.  
“No, I-“   
“Have special powers that set you apart from Hydra’s style of goon?” Jerren snapped to Mick’s annoyance.   
“You’re just jealous, just like you’ve always been!” Mick screamed. “I haven’t been to Asylum and I don’t care to go either!”  
“Jealous of what? You having powers? Your family not being mercilessly slaughtered like they were animals by Hydra? Tell me Mick, what am I jealous of?” Davis shoved Mick backwards then braced himself for a retaliation. Mick lashed out, grabbing Davis by his neck, squeezing tightly.  
“Hydra doesn’t do that! We protect people from vigilantes and threats like you!” Mick growled, then threw Davis backwards, knocking down Jerren, before he turned to Patten seeing his gun pointed directly at Mick.   
“I don’t want to do this Mick, but if you do anything other than leave, I’ll have no choice,” Patten threatened as Mick’s heart ached. “I’m serious, leave now. My drones will fire if you try anything."   
“Fine, but next time, I’ll take you in. Even if it’s in body bags. I’ll hunt down every last SHIELD recruit and put an end to this pointless fighting.” Mick growled as he turned in defeat. He grabbed his face as he walked away curious as to why a tear had fallen, was he just that angry? What was this pain he felt in his heart? None of that mattered now, he was going to return to the lab, maybe seeing Sam could cheer him up. She would probably be grateful for the intel he gathered as well.


	4. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick and Ward take a trip to Hydra's lockdown facility for Inhumans, Asylum. However, their little trip brings with it more questions than answers!

Mick woke the next morning with a strange haze from the odd dreams he had. In his dreams he saw a world where everything was different, he was a part of SHIELD along with Jerren, Davis, and Patten. Surprisingly each one was married, Jerren married his high school sweetheart, Alice and they worked in at the Academy as professors. Patten was married to another operative, Millie, and they were now living in Maine as consultants with their family. Davis was married to Laynie, which really caught him by surprise. They both traveled the world, Davis on assignment, and Laynie for her music. Sam was oddly absent from Mick’s life, but he found himself in a very strange and strained relationship with Daisy Johnson of all people. Even more strange, he was on a team with the Doctor, who went by Fitz, Agent May, and the girl he murdered Jemma Simmons. He rubbed his temples trying to erase those thoughts. “It was just a dream,” he sighed as he rolled over, seeing Sam still asleep. He glanced at the digital clock by their bed, and with a soft groan, he climbed out of bed. The best thing he could do to forget about all of this was go for a run. He grabbed his bluetooth headset, set his phone to play all of his music, then left. 

The cold brisk morning air burned his lungs the faster he ran around the small pond in the nearby park. It was not often he was up before the sun, but he felt restless and slightly distressed. His choice of music was sheer nostalgia, being various songs ranging seventies classic rock to early two thousands punk rock. All of this effort was in vain, the more he fought against his fury at his former friends, the more he began to question if he really made the right choice joining Hydra. It bothered him more that Davis accused Hydra of murdering his family. They wouldn’t do that, that’s not how we operate, or at least that’s what he wanted to believe. He leaned over on a small wood bench, trying to catch his breath from the run, when the sky flashed in a brilliant blue, almost like lightning. He glanced up looking at the daybreak sky, curious as to where the flash originated with the lack of clouds. 

It was beautiful the way the colors were painted as the sun had begun to peak over the horizon. This caused a flash of memories, of himself sitting on a large plane’s ramp with Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Grant Ward, Melinda May, Skye Johnson, and a man than seemed so familiar to Mick but his name eluded him, all watching a rocket take off over the mountain range at a place called the Slingshot. He shook his head as this had to be from his dream, never once had he been to any other SHIELD facility besides the Academy, nor did he know if they even existed. 

He returned home to see Sam working on her laptop while eating a bagel and the apartment full of smoke from Sam probably burning the first thing she wanted for breakfast. She was brilliant in the lab, but could not cook to save her life, luckily that’s where Mick always balanced her out, he loved cooking, and when he couldn’t make it, they went out. “Tried to cook, eh?” Mick teased as Sam frowned pitifully.   
“I was doing so good, then I checked to see the results from the lab, got distracted and burned my French toast to a crisp,” she moaned as Mick smiled.  
“Do the results line up with Jerren’s findings?”  
“Yes, there was a lot of Terrigen particles in that mixture, but the problem I’m having now is, where would they have gotten them? Hydra has had those caves on lock down for the last few years,” Sam’s voice trailed off leaving Mick to question himself even more.   
“You’re not suggesting that we have a traitor, are you?”   
“That is a much better way to say what I thought,” she paused looking at Mick with her green eyes sparkling as if she had been crying.   
“Sammie,” Mick spoke softly as he walked to her. “Do you think Hydra did this?” Sam closed her eyes tightly, with a tear streaming down.   
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” she sobbed, leaning into him.   
“Why don’t you and Skye take the day off, I’m going to get Ward, I want to check out Asylum, maybe there was an escapee or something,” he said as he felt her frown.   
“I just have a really bad feeling about all of this Mick,” she moaned looking up at him with her red puffy face, and tear matted hair.   
“We’ll get to the bottom of it, don’t you worry.” Mick leaned in, kissing her passionately. 

Luckily Ward didn’t take much convincing, he had been itching to see Asylum and how it worked himself. After all, how often did you get to see a super powered safe haven in person? Mick let Ward drive them, as a storm had moved in, bringing heavy rain and thunder. That didn’t make for a good time on a motorcycle. The drive was estimated to be around an hour, which gave Mick time to do some research on his phone. Surely if Hydra killed Davis’ family, there would be a file, or obituaries. 

A quick search through the Hydra registry and nothing was found, but a google search for the Hale family brought a very sick feeling.   
Carolin Hale, mother of three, age forty seven. Quinton Hale, father of three, age fifty.   
Kaley Hale, age twelve.   
Benjamin Hale, age ten.  
Gone but not forgotten, as tragedy swept this small town family. Neighbors say they heard gunshots, sheriffs arrived to see the family all murdered in their beds. Eldest son, Davis Bennet, wanted by Hydra for being affiliated with SHIELD was nowhere to be found. Locals believe this could have been a terrible gang attack to send a sign to Davis, conspirators believe it to be a flex from Hydra, either way, this young family was taken long before it was their time. 

Mick gasped after reading the article. He couldn’t believe it, he then searched out Jerren’s parents, only to see they too had been murdered, as well as Pattens brother and mother. No, Hydra couldn’t be this cruel, it had to be local gangs trying to send a message! It just had to be. Mick’s head spun wildly as Ward pulled off the road, his Jeep bouncing wildly across the rough terrain toward some darkened structure. “Where are we?” Mick asked as Ward stared at the GPS screen on his dashboard, tapping it as if something were horribly wrong.   
“It says we’re here,” Ward said skeptically as lighting flashed, illuminating the ruins of a building that had clearly been destroyed for quite some time.   
“That can’t be right, we just sent some people to Asylum last week,” Mick muttered In disbelief.   
“It clearly wasn’t here, but we can get out and check the place out if you want,” Ward offered as Mick slumped in the seat debating what to do.   
He pulled his hood over his head, then opened the door, only to be greeted by a brilliant flash of lightning as it jolted across the sky, and the roar of thunder to follow. He ran toward the building barely able to see anything in the thick wall of rain. He paused at a fence that had a heavy duty padlock, and the sign reading Asylum, home of the Inhumans. No trespassing, violators killed. “You sure about this?” Ward yelled, only barely audible over the storm.   
“I have to know the truth,” Mick yelled back, before using his enhanced strength to snap the padlock, then drop it and the chain to the ground, splashing mud on his drenched pants and long coat. The reached a covered part of the building, seeing the walls falling apart, broken windows on the doors that were barely hanging on to the hinges.   
“I think we can see the truth now, there isn’t an Asylum.” The tone in Ward’s voice screamed betrayal, something he was all to used to with his past family life.   
“Why would they lie to us?” Mick stammered as they entered the building, turning on their flashlights and seeing bullet holes in the walls, as well as dried blood and mangled looking bones.   
“I don’t think it’s the first time they have. They say Inhumans are a threat and should be feared. The ones I’ve ever met is are pretty amazing people,” Ward said, catching Mick completely off guard.   
“When did you meet an Inhuman?”   
“You mean time tell me, you and your wife aren’t Inhumans?”   
“No, we’re really not. I thought I told you, I got my powers from being attacked by a guy who was experimented on. Sammie has always had her powers since birth, she never went through Terragenesis,” Mick explained as Ward looked slightly uncomfortable.  
“What would you say if I told you Skye is an Inhuman?” Ward asked as Mick stared at him curiously, somehow deep down Mick felt that to be true, but he wasn’t sure how he could know such a thing.  
“I’d ask you how could that be, she doesn’t seem to have powers or be a threat.”  
“What?” Ward asked as if he had no idea what Mick was talking about, and had somehow just entered the room when Mick was sure he was ahead of him.   
“Uh?” Mick stammered unsure of what was going on. Did he dream up this revelation?  
“This place is very strange. I’m glad you and Sam never ended up here.”   
“Yeah, me too,” Mick winced as thunder shook the building causing debris to fall. “I think I’ve seen enough. Let’s get out of here,” he suggested as Ward nodded in agreement. 

Once the reached Ward’s Jeep, Mick felt even more uneasy. A feeling which was only amplified when Ward broke the silence. “Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without Hydra?”  
“Not until recently, why?” Mick asked as Ward smiled crookedly.   
“Just something I’ve been thinking about,” Ward said in a suspicious manner.   
“Let’s go check out the school again, maybe we can actually talk to some people now,” Mick said as Ward nodded. A world without Hydra, one that seemed so familiar, so reachable, but at what cost? Sam was oddly missing in those dreams, would she be the price he would have to pay to leave Hydra? 

Upon arriving at the school, the two split up, Ward was going to do interviews while Mick looked around, hoping to hear anything from passing students. He paused as he walked by a classroom with a man teaching on Inhumans, and why to fear them. Mick turned, seeing the man, his faded hair line with his bold forehead, hearing his kindred voice and matching mannerisms. Something about the man tugged at Mick, he knew this man, not only knew him but he was like a father to him. He watched the man curiously, leaning against the lockers behind him. He was determined to figure this all out, at least that was the plan, until he saw her. She looked much older than the last time he saw her, her bright brown eyes, bouncing brunette hair, she was dressed in a white shirt black jacket combo, with dress pants, walking right towards him with a big smile, as if he never killed her in the first place. “No, this can’t be, I killed you,” Mick stammered barely above a whisper as he slid down the lockers plopping on the floor.   
“Mick!” She exclaimed, clearly excited to see him, which only made Mick’s head spin more.   
“No please, I didn’t mean to, I had to save her!” Mick whimpered clutching his head as it began to pound intensely, feeling as if it could split open.   
“Mick, it’s me, Jemma. Do you recognize me?” She asked as she leaned down toward him, looking at him in both a compassionate, and curious manner.   
“I see your face all the time, it haunts me every time I touch a gun. Of course I recognize you, I killed you,” Mick said as Jemma’s face dropped from compassion to udder shock.   
“I’m not dead Mick, this is just a simulation, I’m really here,” Jemma reached out touching him, which only caused Mick to recoil, curling up into a ball clutching his head as it continued to pound with every beat of his heart, which was now racing.   
“No, this can’t be happening right now, this just can’t be real,” Mick moaned as he felt Jemma’s warm touch on his shoulder trying to comfort him. Something inside him felt truth and comfort from her, but everything else fought to reject this. His mind raced, and the faster it spun, the worse he felt.   
“Ward?” Mick heard Jemma mutter, as he tried to open his eyes.   
“You know me? Never mind that, we need to get him out of here. You can fill me in as to what happened on the way,” Ward said before lifting Mick up. Mick was awake enough to be shocked just how strong Ward was, but not enough to say or do anything else.


	5. Resist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting Jemma Simmons, the dead girl, Mick's mind begins to spin wildly with strange memories of another world.   
> Could it all just be a test, or is it real? Only time will tell for sure!

Mick woke up laying in his bed with a cool damp rag on his head. The room was dark, with lights peaking under the door from the living room. He felt nauseated, his head still spinning. His memory was slightly fuzzy as to how he arrived in this situation. All he could remember was Jemma, which had to be a hallucination. He eased himself out of bed making his way toward the door he heard faint talking, a familiar male voice, probably Ward’s, then Sam’s voice, which he could make out with ease, but who was this other girl? She had an English sounding accent. He steadily opened the door to see Jemma sitting across from Sam at their table and Ward on the couch. “You passed out there bud, feeling any better?” Ward called out as Mick braced himself on the door, his eyes locked on Jemma.   
“I can understand how this is such a shock for you, this simulation is so realistic!” Jemma said as she looked between Ward and Sam.   
“Why do you keep simulation?” Mick asked as his mind continued to wrestle with reality.  
“Because Mick, you’re locked in the framework, Aida considered you a threat, and replaced you with an LMD in the real world,” Jemma explained only for Mick to slide down the doorframe, his head spinning worse than before.   
Could that be true? Could all of this be the dream, and those dreams be reality? He shook his head, then turned to Ward who was fiddling with Mick’s model of a silver Nissan 350Z. “Is this why you questioned me about if I made the wrong choice?”  
“No, I was actually asking because I know you were with a SHIELD team last night,” Mick’s heart stopped. How did Ward know that, Mick was super careful not to get caught tracking Patten’s team. “Before you panic, there’s something you should know.”   
“Ward’s a double agent!” Sam cheered as Mick’s didn’t know what to think about this whole situation. Why was Sam so excited about this? Why would Ward be a traitor?  
“Well that’s rather fitting actually,” Jemma blurted our as Mick shot a skeptical look at her. “He betrayed us in our world for Hydra, so it’s only fitting he would betray Hydra for SHIELD.”   
“Wow, the me in your world is an idiot then,” Ward said as Mick shot the same skeptical look at him.   
“You believe all of this?” Mick snapped as Ward shrugged.   
“I’m a little skeptical too, but how else could a dead girl come back older, and have memories of you?” Sam’s voice would’ve normally soothed him, comforted him, and potentially convinced him, but it only brought pain this time.   
“I need time to take all of this in,” Mick sighed, leaning his head against the door post. His head swirled with memories, him belonging to SHIELD, the pain of Ward’s betrayal, their countless fights when they crossed patches, learning of Ward’s death, then him becoming the alien Hive. The painful memories seared in his mind causing him to scream in agony.   
Both Jemma and Sam rushes to his side as Mick curled into a ball on the floor, agonizing over what was truth and a lie.   
“I wish this would be easier for you, I can only imagine just how hard it is to wrap your mind around all of this,” Jemma said, brushing Mick’s hair from his face. The warmth of her touch was different from that of Sam’s. There was something different, something pure, where Sam’s had changed into something else. “Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time, we still have to find Daisy, and Coulson.” There was something about that name that rang familiar with him, he knew who Daisy was, but it was a memory on the edge of his mind. She was important to him, but he just couldn’t remember why.

Mick looked up at Jemma, then over towards Ward, finally back at Sam. “Well, one of us should be at HQ filing the report from Sam’s findings, do either of you know who this Coulson or Daisy are?”   
“Never heard of them,” Ward shrugged.  
“Not a clue,” Sam sighed.  
“Wait,” Mick said as he pictured the made with the fading hairline, the man who was like a father to him, always there for him, helping him with every problem he’s faced since he was a kid. “I know where he is! Sam, you and Ward go file the report, Jemma and I are going to find Coulson.”   
“Alright, we need to stop by the apartment first, you know who wasn’t feeling well earlier,” Ward said as Jemma looked slightly unsure, but didn’t ask. 

It didn’t take long for Mick to remember how much Jemma hated riding on his motorcycle. She dug her nails into his side multiple times as they flew down the highway to the small school. She breathed a sigh of relief once Mick finally parked and they started made their way to the front office. “If this is a simulation, why do I have so many memories of being here?” Mick asked before opening the door, causing Jemma to frown.   
“I would guess ingraining you with memories prevents you from trying to escape the system,” Jemma reasoned as Mick frowned. He reasoned with his memories of Ward, that he was simply a recreation of a friend he lost, but what about Sam? Mick was almost afraid to ask, being that none of his dream memories included her in the team.   
“I have a question I want to ask, but I don’t think I want the answer,” Mick said, as Jemma bit down on her lip. Mick was almost certain she knew what he wanted to ask, just because they had been so close for so long.   
“I guess you haven’t got all of your memories back then?” She said in a trembling voice as they walked into the office.   
Mick flashed his Hydra badge as the secretary nodded letting them into the school without any questions. “I’m not sure, I can remember Ward, and Hive, so I guess he’s fake, but I can’t figure out why I can’t remember Sam,” Mick looked over at Jemma who was staring at the ground uncomfortably. She knew something, and whatever it was, it must be better that he didn’t remember.  
“Why are we here again?” Jemma asked Mick as he shook his head.   
“Before you showed up this morning, I saw a man who I think is Coulson. The memories of him are a little fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure of my hunch,” Mick explained as Jemma smiled. They walked down to the classroom, and there he was, once again teaching on the dangers of Inhumans, and why to fear them.   
“Brilliant!” Jemma cheered as she started into the classroom before Mick could grab her. 

He watched quietly as Jemma spoke with Coulson, who seemed to have no idea of who she was. Maybe he was wrong, maybe this man wasn’t Coulson at all. That would make no sense Jemma recognizes him, Mick reasoned within. Coulson clearly looked panicked, which caused Mick to finally enter the classroom. “Sorry about this, she’s a new recruit, a little over eager, and may have had too much to drink before work,” Mick said as Coulson looked slightly fearful of him, then glanced out at the twelve kids in the class. Mick then lead Jemma out of the class before speaking. “What did you say that upset him so much?”   
“I tried talking to him, but he’s just as bad off as you were! He doesn’t even know who I am!” She exclaimed as Mick frowned.   
“Maybe he’s not really Coulson?” Mick suggested as Jemma glared.   
“That’s Phil Coulson, I’d recognize him anywhere, you should too! You’ve looked up to him since,” Jemma bit her lip trying to sensor something. “You looked up to him for a long time! And what’s with you saying I drink on the job?” Mick rolled his eyes as Jemma pouted.   
“It was to calm him down, geez!” Mick grumbled as Jemma was clearly thinking of a new plan.   
“Maybe you should talk to him, that might wake him up,” she suggested only to be met with skepticism from Mick.  
“And say what? I’m not really a Hydra Agent, I work for SHIELD and you’re out team leader. This whole place we’re in is some kind of computer simulation.”   
“Probably not so bluntly, just talk to him, maybe he’ll remember things, similarly to you.”   
“These memories didn’t come back until I saw someone I killed in this world. This guy is a school teacher, and the look he gave me, that wasn’t familiarity, it was fear. Because I am in Hydra.”   
“Mick, please you have to try,” Jemma pleaded as Mick rolled his eyes.   
“I really don’t though, for all I know this is just a loyalty test from the Doctor or Madam Hydra,” Mick went silent as his phone buzzed in his pocket. “Ward?”   
“Things are bad! No time to explain! You and Jemma need to get out of there! Hydra is sending an army your way to take out both you and Jemma!” Ward’s voice was his usual stern work self, with gunfire in the background.   
“What about Sam and Skye?”   
“They’re with me! I’ll send you the location of where to meet us, until then, be safe!” Ward hung up leaving Mick feeling sick once again.   
“Come on, we’ll have to deal with Coulson later! Hydra is coming for us,” Mick said as he grabbed Jemma’s wrist and pulled her along with him as they ran to the nearest exit.


	6. Altered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Hydra pursuing Jemma and himself, it’s time to cut lose and truly show was being Recluse is all about.

Chapter 6 Altered

Hydra soldiers filed out of two jet black SUV’s which only made Mick smile. It had been a long time since he had cut loose with his powers, which was the last mission he and Ward went on to Prague where Ward offended a high ranking general and had the entire militia after them. Ironically that was right before Mick had married Sam. He shook his head, fighting off the fake memories, trying to focus on the task at hand. He had to figure out how to clear a path and keep Jemma safe. He smirked as he cracked his knuckles, then rolled his sleeves back on his jacket. “Think you can stay close?” He asked turning to Jemma as she shrugged with a do I really have a choice expression. He pulled two silver hilt looking items from his jacket pockets, igniting them which caused to glowing blue saber like blades to appear. “Let’s have some fun!” Mick growled as he running at the Hydra soldiers, blocking their pulse blasts with ease. He flicked his wrists webbing up the first line of soldiers as he reached them, then jumped using them as a spring board to clear the SUV, then landed slashing through the three soldiers that were not expecting him. The blades faded, which he then threw the hilts hitting two more soldiers. He quickly webbed a soldier, slamming his head into the SUV before taking on the next one which was quickly throwing punches. Mick dodged several before he heard Jemma cry out. He then threw out several web lines catching various soldiers sticking the ends to the SUV before placing a small silver ring into the webs, then spinning it, which caused blue electricity to zap his foes.   
He jumped back over the SUV to see two soldiers holding Jemma, trying to drag her to another SUV. Without a moment to spare, he pulled out his two pulse ammo pistols, firing them with lucky accuracy. Jemma shook her head, trying not to smile. She knew he was quite the show off, but this was a little over the top. “Are you finished yet?”   
“What? I was just warming up!” Mick said with a sly grin, reaching into his pocket for his phone which was buzzing. He pulled it out to see coordinates. “Alright, fine, we need to go before backup arrives,” Mick grabbed Jemma’s hand as they raced to his bike.   
“They gave you some new toys huh?” Jemma asked leaning on his shoulder as they raced off following the hologram map on Mick’s tiny windshield.   
“Yeah, Sam built them so I wouldn’t need to use my powers so much,” he said loudly. “I really keep them under wrap, the Doctor doesn’t like us to expose them. Doesn’t want us confused with Inhumans.”   
“Who is the Doctor? Both Sam and Ward mentioned him earlier.”  
“He’s the guy that gives my Boss orders. He ranks way up in Hydra.”   
“Okay, who is your boss then?”   
“Melinda May.”   
“She’s here too?”   
“Guess that mean’s she’s real too?” Mick asked as they pulled up to a very slummy run down building.   
“I’m not sure, but we’ll find out!” Jemma exclaimed as the roar of the bike died down as they parked near the door. 

Mick walked inside the run down building, the floor creaking with every step, parts of the ceiling had collapsed, with water dripping from moldy insulation and debris. Mick checked his phone once again. “You sure this is the right place?” Jemma asked with disgust.  
“The location seems to match up, but I don’t know why-“ Mick paused as something clicked loudly, then the floor began to shift. “Jemma!” Mick jumped, catching Jemma, then tried to use his webs to stop then from falling. The ceiling collapsed under their weight, and down they went, Mick clutching Jemma in his arms. 

Mick groaned as Jemma rolled off of him, they were now in dimly lit and quite smelly tunnels. “You okay?” Mick asked, pulling himself to his feet.   
“Yeah, thankfully you broke my fall,” Jemma said as she began to look around.   
“Welcome to the Underground,” a slightly familiar, deep tone came from the tunnel behind them. Out if the shadows walked Patten.   
“Patten!” Jemma exclaimed as she started to hug him.   
“Do I know you?” He asked as Jemma frowned.  
“Guess not,” she sighed as Mick stepped between them.   
“What is the Underground?” Mick asked skeptically as Jemma examined Patten.   
“It’s better that you see for yourself,” Patten said as he began to walk into the shadows.   
“I don’t know,” Mick started.  
“Oh come on Mick! You guys are friends,” Jemma fussed, only to see Mick clearly still struggling with his two sets of memories.   
“Yeah, ok,” Mick sighed trying his best to trust Jemma, then followed her and Patten through the tunnel.   
“Mick!” A very familiar female voice echoed through the large open room, with a black eagle painted on the wall. Then to his surprise, Skye ran up to him embracing him warmly, which caused his heart to flutter. He reluctantly held her close for a moment. He quickly pushed her off when he saw Sam walking in from the other side staring at them quite confused.   
“What was that for?” Mick asked as Skye looked at him curiously as he walked over to Sam wrapping his arms around her.   
“I’ll explain all of this to both of you later, right now, we need to work on getting out of the framework,” Jemma said grabbing Skye, leading her away as Mick stared at the two skeptically.   
“Wait, we? Skye is a real person too?” Mick asked as Jemma seemed quite flustered.   
“Yeah, apparently in here I was hooking up with Ward, and I work for Hydra!” Skye said nonchalantly as Mick grabbed his head wincing in pain, then dropped to his knees.   
“Mick!” Both Sam and Skye yelled running to his sides.


	7. Torn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s a race against time as Mick begins to see the truth, as well as help Skye and Jemma with their mission to get back Coulson.

Memories of his time with Skye spun around his mind mixing with waves of intense heartbreak and agony. He remembered saving her at the Stark Expo, moving to Los Angeles after taking down Wren who threatened to kill her. Watching her to keep her out of SHIELD’s eyes, only to end up joining them himself just to protect her. Watching her fall for Ward, only for him to break her heart in his betrayal. Helping her post terra genesis to understand her powers, only for her to leave and be with her mother.   
Him being there for her after her mother was killed, only to be one upped once again by her new love interest, Lincoln. Crying on the lab floor with Jemma and Fitz by his side because of how much he hurt. Intensive training with May to mask his emotions followed. He remembered holding her the day Lincoln sacrificed himself to kill Hive. He wished he could take all of her pain away, he could be there for her, protecting her, fighting along side of her. He knew the pain of losing love like that, but couldn’t remember why.   
It never happened though. She had run off with Robbie Reyes, left them all behind in her grief, which only brought more pain to him. Finally he remembered Aida standing over him promising to take away this pain, to sooth his broken heart, and the sick thoughts of wishing she really could forget about Daisy and how much he loved her.   
At the thought of her true name, he opened his eyes to see everyone gathered around him. He looked at Skye, only to realize, this wasn’t the Skye he knew, this was Daisy from Jemma’s world. His heart ached, because not only was Daisy here trying to save him and the others, so was Sam. He couldn’t figure out why Sam wasn’t part of his memories, why was he chasing after Daisy when Sam should’ve been around, what could have happened that was so terrible he could block it all out? “Are you alright?” Jerren asked offering Mick a glass of water.   
“Thanks,” Mick said with a smile surprising Jerren.   
“You thanking us? That must have been some killer headache!” Davis barked from behind everyone else. Mick sat up, looking at him curiously.  
“You guys have always been there for me, why wouldn’t I thank you?” Mick responded instinctively only for Patten, Jerren, and Davis to share the same skeptical look.   
“Does that mean you remember our world?” Jemma asked as Mick turned to her, he smiled half heartedly.   
“Not all of it, but the things that matter, and some that don’t,” he said shooting a bitter look at Daisy.   
“Great, now that you’re awake and we’re all here, we need to work on getting you out of here. Any new plans Jemma?” Ward asked trying to get everyone focused.   
“Well, the backdoor device isn’t working. It’s almost like it’s been patched or something. We’re going to need someone with a work around,” Jemma explained as she held out the tiny grey device pressing the button only for it to click.   
“So they know we’re here?” Daisy asked as Mick turned to Ward and Sam wanting to say something, but interrupted by an explosion up above causing rocks to drop from the ceiling.   
“Yeah I would guess so!” Ward yelled.  
“Crap! This is my fault! They probably tracked my bike!” Mick fussed as Davis shook his head.   
“Ward, you get them to the boss! We’ll make a distraction! Davis yelled as another explosion went off.   
“No! It’s my mess, let me clean it!” Mick yelled only to be pushed backwards by Patten, while Jerren presses a button on the wall revealing a blue and silver fully armored body suit.   
“Nah, we’ve been waiting for this,” Jerren said reaching out to the suit, touching the chest plate as it began to glow brightly. “Suit on!” He cried out as the armor pulled itself apart, flying around Jerren while attaching to him.   
“Whoa,” Mick gasped as he watched intently as the helmet closed around Jerren’s head.   
“Oracle OS online, all systems go!” Jerren said as his voice was projected from the armor.   
“If you think that’s cool, you should see what I can do without the armor,” Davis smirked as he whipped a staff around with blue electricity crackling from each end.  
“Don’t get cocky, who knows how many they have up there,” Patten said patting Davis’ back. “Go, save the real world, you can leave this one to us.” Patten said looking at Mick with a smile. The two nodded together before Patten lead his team into the tunnels to the left, leaving Mick to feel as if this were the last time he would see them.   
“Alright so what’s the plan now?” Mick asked as Jemma frantically paced around and Sam wore a glum look.   
“We need to wake up Coulson, he will know what to do!” Daisy said as Ward frowned.   
“They tried that already, that’s how we ended up on the Hydra blacklist,” Ward stated.   
“No, only I tried,” Jemma said with a sigh.  
“Let Daisy try, they’ve always been close,” Mick said as Sam groaned.   
“We should both try,” Daisy said with a grin.   
“I don’t like this idea,” Mick said nervously.  
“I think she’s right. I can help Ward keep Jemma safe by using my powers as we escape, you can protect Skye with yours and find this Coulson person,” Sam finally gave her thoughts as Mick stared curiously.   
“But,” Mick started only for Sam to cover his mouth with her index finger.   
“No buts. Here, take my ring for good luck, give it back when we meet up again!” She kissed his cheek, then slipped his silver chain out around his neck, sliding the ring on it before refastening it.   
Mick turned to see Jemma whispering in Daisy’s ear, which only irked Mick, it seemed there was something he didn’t remember but Jemma did. He was going to figure it out. “Ready?” Mick asked as Daisy nodded. “Keep her safe, Ward,” Mick demanded as he motioned toward Sam.   
“I’ve got this,” Ward smirked as he lead them deeper into the tunnels to the right.   
They ran together in the damp tunnels until they reached a fork. “This way should lead you into the city, you and Skye,” Ward paused then frowned. “Sorry, Daisy. You and Daisy should be able to reach the school, hopefully that Coulson guy is already there or at least will be when you get there. We’re going to keep going straight, should end up outside the city and be able to slip into the woods until Patten and his team contact us to get clearance for these two in Shield’s base.”   
“Thanks Ward. I think I really would have liked you in this thing,” Daisy said as Ward grinned.   
“I mean, Skye and I were a thing,” Ward teased as Daisy chuckled.   
“Alright enough already, we’ll contact you if something changes,” Mick said with a slight hint of jealousy. “I’ll see you soon Sammie.”   
“Go get ‘em, Tiger,” Sam said with a smile. 

Mick and Daisy ran down the tunnels, the commotion still echoing from the battle in Underground. “So do your powers work here, because mine don’t.” Daisy asked as Mick turned to her curiously.   
“You don’t have,” Mick paused as he struggled with the clashing memories. “Sorry, everything isn’t exactly clear. So you can’t quake?”   
“Nope, I tried to quake Ward when he walked into my apartment, he thought I was insane,” she said as Mick chuckled.   
“I could imagine,” he replied as he looked up the ladder while reaching into his pocket pulling out a small silvery sphere. “This should let us know if it’s clear.” He squeezed the ball then tossed it into the air, it hovered briefly before floating up to and through the openings in the drain grate. It flashed a brilliant green, which was perfect. Mick quickly climbed the ladder with Daisy on his heels. He used his strength to push the grate away, then climbed out, reaching down to help Daisy. The warmth in her hands made him quiver and ache.  
“Hey, I’m sorry I blew you off before,” Daisy said as Mick frowned, remembering the last time he saw her being her reinstatement to S.H.I.E.L.D. They were supposed to meet for dinner, in which Fitz and Simmons had convinced Mick to be honest and tell Daisy how he felt, only for her to blow him off due to her tracking the Watchdogs.   
“Let’s not talk about that now,” Mick said trying not to be annoyed.   
“Mick, really, I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’re one of my best friends, and this whole mess really helped me see how much you mean to me,” Daisy said sorrowfully. He stomach turned to butterflies, which only made everything so much worse.   
“What about Sam? Do you remember her at all?” Mick said as Daisy recoiled.  
“You told me a story about a girl that died fighting alongside you when you were both in high school, but I don’t remember her name. I do know you always wore that ring though,” she said as Mick froze as they came up on the school parking lot, seeing a few cars, but only one running.   
“Is Sam dead, is that what Jemma was whispering to you?” He asked grabbing Daisy, who was stunned by his sudden change in demeanor.   
“I don’t know, honestly!”  
“No, if she was dead, I would remember it, right?” His mind spun wildly as he released Daisy. “No, we need to focus on this. I’ll keep lookout, you go talk to Coulson.” Daisy nodded as Mick pulled out a few gadgets from his jacket: a small EMP which would easily disable a Hydra drone, his trusted pulse pistol, a set of enhanced binoculars, and a one of his energy sabers.   
He watched with the binoculars as she snuck over to the car, slipping into the back seat. He then saw Coulson walking back to his car slightly distressed. He climbed in, which meant this was now all on Daisy. Mick glanced around as he heard ruffling nearby. He flipped the binoculars into heat vision, only to see a bird fending off a squirrel that had ventured too close to it’s nest.   
A few long moments passed before Mick watched Daisy and Coulson get out of the car, and Daisy trying to motion him forward. He jogged over as Coulson looked at him curiously. “I’ve seen you before, I think I know you too,” Coulson said.  
“Yeah, I was the one that brought Jemma,” Mick said flatly.  
They walked into Coulson’s classroom, where they could talk in private. Daisy broke down her knowledge of the framework, doing her best to explain the whole situation to Coulson. While he seemed to struggle with some of the details, he seemed to accept it much easier than Mick did.   
“I knew Hydra was lying about all of this! They must have brainwashed all of us using that weird blue soap!” Mick and Daisy both shared a look of confusion once Coulson finished. “That’s why I’ve been making my own, you guys should too.”  
“There’s nothing in the soap, we don’t even make soap,” Mick said as Coulson nodded.   
“That’s just what they want you to think. Use your head Mick, how else would they control you?” Coulson said as Mick’s heart stopped. Never once had they told him who Mick was, how did he know his name?  
“So you remember us?” Daisy beamed as Mick clutched his head once more.   
More memories flooded into his head brining with them more pain and suffering. He watched vividly as his whole family went up in pillars of flames set off by the psychopath Jake Carson, the memories jumped to Coulson standing by his side at the large funeral for all of the lives lost that day. It was Coulson that got him through it all. He was the father figure to Mick throughout his training at the Shield Academy, the one there for him when everything fell apart. He always could put Mick back together.   
“Not everything, but apparently, some things, like your names.” Coulson said as Mick’s heart felt happiness.   
“If you can jump on board of this crazy train, I guess I’ll go all in too,” Mick said with a smirk, until Daisy’s phone rang to cut the moment short. She was silent as she looked at the window, then back at Coulson.   
“Looks like our reunion party is going to be cut short, you and I are needed back at base, and we also need to get Coulson to Jemma and Sam before Hydra enforcers get here.” Her voice was solemn, but Mick wasn’t afraid. He was determined now, he would protect his family, and who knows, maybe when Sam saw Coulson she could wake up too.


	8. Horrible  Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick discovers some harsh truths about this world, and it’s inhabitants as more of his memories return.

After leaving Coulson with Sam and Jemma, Mick, Ward, and Daisy returned to the triskelion to be greater with a disapproving scowl from Agent May. “You’re late,” she growled as Mick and Daisy entered the building. “Briefing room, now. You know how much The Doctor hates tardiness.”   
“Sorry, it was my fault,” Mick started as May rolled her eyes.  
“I don’t care about your excuses,” May interrupted as she opened the doors to the conference room, where stood Leopold Fitz, otherwise known as Hydra’s second in commas, The Doctor. He earned that name due to his advanced skills, and the his new technological breakthrough that detects potential inhumans, and what their powers would be. He always dressed sharply in a suit, his hair nice and tight, always with a firm look.   
“Nice of you to finally join us,” The Doctor said harshly before switching the screen to a picture of a girl standing by a car. Upon closer focus, Mick and Daisy recognized that girl as Jemma. “This subvrsive is extremely dangerous, you are authorized to use lethal force. Dismissed,” his words were cold and calloused, polar opposite of the Fitz from Mick’s other memories. “Bellouve, I’d like to see you in my office.”  
“Don’t worry I’ll protect Jemma,” Daisy whispered to have Mick frown and nod. Before all of this he only dealt with Agent May and her orders from him, never had he dealt with The Doctor on his own.   
“Johnson, come with me,” May barked as Daisy and Mick shared another look before going their separate ways.   
The Doctors office was bright, overlooking all of DC from the top of the triskelion. He had very few trinkets, even fewer pictures, most of him and a woman Mick had only heard of, Madam Hydra, but somehow seemed vaguely familiar. She didn’t come around the lower floors much, but everyone knew of her. She was as ruthless as they come, and even more feared than The Doctor himself.   
The Doctor sat at his desk staring intently at a picture, before motioning Mick to sit in the small chair across from him. “Did you know we have a mole?” The harshness in his voice unnerved Mick.   
“Sam and I suspected as much, but we hadn’t enough proof to confirm it.”  
“Really? You both suspect it?” There was something unusually intense about his tone.  
“Yes Sir, we believe that whoever they are have connections to the bombing at the school.”   
“What if I told you your wife was the mole?” Mick’s heart stopped, why would he suspect that? How could Mick protect Sam from The Doctor?   
“I would have a hard time believing it, surely I would be able to tell. I mean, I trust Sam. She wouldn’t betray us,” Mick stammered as The Doctor’s eyes narrowed.   
“See, Bellouve, the thing about betrayal, it only comes from those people we trust,” he said as he turned his screen so that Mick could see the image he was looking at. To Mick’s horror, it was Sam standing with Jemma outside of their house. His heart began to race, how could he get out of this? How could Sam have been so careless? “It’s your job to prove your worth to Hydra. We cut out our moles like the cancer they are. Either kill Samantha Bellouve, or I will.”   
Mick sat silently, unsure of what to do. How could it have come to this, why? Before Mick could respond, Madam Hydra walked in clearly distressed. “We need to get to Radcliffe, the no fly zone has been breached,” she fussed, then glared at Mick who she didn’t expect to see in the office.   
“Interesting,” The Doctor said not taking his eyes off of Mick. “Let’s go see if it’s who I think it is. You’re coming too,” he finished as Mick gulped. He hoped Sam was far away from wherever they were going, hopefully she was somewhere safe. 

They boarded the Hive, which was an oversized mobile base of a jet, housing its own arsenal for soldiers on board, a training room, a lounge, a few bunks, a laboratory, as well as a few vehicles. Madam Hydra had Mick handcuffed in the special cuffs that Fitz had designed to cut off any special powers. Usually they were used on Inhumans, but Madam Hydra wanted to take no chances with Sam being accused of being a traitor.   
A few hours passed and Mick was shoved off the plane like a prisoner, with Fitz and Madam Hydra taking point as they walked up to a grey haired man with a scruffy grey beard to match, who seemed vaguely familiar to Mick. His real world memories continued to blur as he looked at him. “Search the island! Find them!” Madam Hydra barked as four soldiers stayed close, two with guns pointed at Mick, the other two at the sides of Fitz and Madam Hydra.   
“Ophelia, you promised if I stayed on the island out of your way, you’d leave us alone,” there was fear in the man’s voice that matched the distressed look in his eyes although Mick couldn’t help but be amused by his Scottish accent. It really was quite the place to stay out of the way. The whole island had a tropical feel, amazingly comfortable climate, a nice mansion with a pool, it was clear this was meant to be a paradise for the man.   
“Drop the indignation Doctor,” she spoke soft yet firmly. “This islands no fly zone was breached an hour ago,” she paused looking around with great annoyance written on her face. “We both know you’re harboring submvrsives, and I will find them. Soon enough.” With that Fitz walked off with two soldiers to search the island.   
Mick stared at the uncomfortable look on the man’s face, the way he kept looking at Ophelia, which Mick never knew her real name. “Subversives? Those are people who happen to be our friends!” He exclaimed, as Mick stared at him curiously, was this guy from the real world too? “You turned them into prisoners!”  
“Hah. I did exactly as you asked,” she said with a wicked smile on her face, which only brought agony to the man.   
“Don’t play innocent with me. We both know this has gone much farther than that!” He snapped, which caused Ophelia’s lips to curl angrily.   
“I took away their one greatest regret. How things played out from there wasn’t really up to me,” she snapped coldly.   
“You put yourself into the framework and have been manipulating it ever since! This whole thing has ended up a disaster!” He growled in frustration as Ophelia shook her head, slightly amused. “On top of that, all you do is lie!”   
“Sometimes it’s okay to lie, to save a life,” she snapped back, back to her unshaken evil smile. “You taught me that,” she taunted as the man glared bitterly.  
“Don’t use turn my logic, or my bloody programming against me Aida!” Those words were like a knife to Mick’s mind, cutting straight through more of the memories of the framework. He remembered the man’s name, Holden Radcliffe. Ophelia’s original self, Aida, the life model decoy originally designed by both Radcliffe and Fitz, but couldn’t remember why. While the memories were vague, he knew he had a severe distaste for Aida. Micks mind snapped back into focus, seeing a furious scowl on Aida’s face. She eased closer to Radcliffe, her anger radiating like a fire.   
“Do not call me that here. Aida is an acronym, the A stands for artificial,” she growled as she then began to circle Radcliffe. “Do you know how degrading it is to be kept in a closet? Used? Treated as a thing?” She paused as Radcliffe looked up at her. “Well, I am not your tool, not anymore.”   
“Found one in the back,” Fitz said returning to Aida’s side, glaring at both Mick and Radcliffe who wore a look of concern for who Mick found. Mick turned to see the woman, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Aida, then looked back at Radcliffe who was now horrified.   
“Holden, what’s happening, who are these people?” Her voice was even a perfect match to Aida. She trembled with fear as she spoke.   
“Well, it’s exactly as you said,” Fitz said harshly as he looked over the woman, almost disgusted at her. “The other side is coming for us.” He reached up touching the woman curiously as she winced and trembled, “She even has your face.”   
“Why does she look like me Holden?” The woman began to shake with absolute horror written all over her face.   
Mick tried to readjust only for Aida to reach into her jacket pocket pulling out a small red device, glaring at Mick, almost daring him to move again, much less speak anything he heard. He knew that device, he had used it on inhumans. Within the cuffs were an almost taser like function that would send countless volts into a prisoner, guaranteeing compliance.   
“Don’t panic love, I can explain all of this. I’ve been meaning to but the timing has just,“ his words were cut off by Aida.  
“This man is from the other side. He’s the one who enslaved me.”  
“What? That’s a pretty extreme bit of paraphrasing don’t you think?” Radcliffe stared as Fitz’s eyes stayed locked on him, the anger could be seen kindled, not yet fully ablaze.   
“He used me, kept me as his property.” Aida snarled as Fitz’s cold expression only grew darker.   
“Now, dear boy, I don’t know what lies she’s been feeding you but,” once again Radcliffe was cut off by Aida.   
“He wants what we have. All for himself. He means to replace me with her.” Aida spat, glaring at the woman being bound by two soldiers, who continued to wear a look of horror.   
“No, no!” Radcliffe exclaimed as he turned to Fitz with look of desperation. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Her name is Agnes, she’s harmless, not a threat, you have to believe me!” He pleaded only for Fitz to turn away and take a gun from the soldier guarding Mick, cock it, then point it at the woman, causing her to scream and jump backwards.  
“Then convince me,” Fitz said darkly locking eyes with Radcliffe who was mortified at Fitz’s reaction.   
Even Mick jumped, which brought out Aida’s wrath, as she clicked the button. Mick screamed in agony, falling to his knees. He struggled to regain his composure as he looked up at Fitz. This wasn’t who he was, he would never act like this. Fitz was a very kind hearted man, would give you the shirt off his back if it would help you. The Doctor however, was as dark as the blackest night, only caring about one thing, pleasing Ophelia.   
“You, uh, you’re right!” Radcliffe stammered as the began to panic. “The subversives are here. I see now I should have been more forthcoming. Please put the gun down, I, I’ll take you to them.” He pleaded as Fitz kept the gun pointed right at Agnes’ heart, only Aida to smile with eagerness.   
“Tell me the truth; you act like you know me, why?” His voice was darker than ever. Mick didn’t dare move again, although everything in him was screaming to help Agnes.   
“The soldiers can find the subversives, we should be going,” Aida chimes in, hoping to Fitz to follow without question, only for Radcliffe to cut her off.   
“You were like a son to me!” He exclaimed as Aida scowled. “We worked side by side in the lab, occasionally raise a pint,” he paused briefly as if he remembered a few moments, “Or six, watching football, real football!” He smiled hoping to see a change of expression from Fitz, but was only met with the dark glare.  
“That’s absurd,” Fitz replies tightening his grip on the gun.   
“It’s the truth my boy! You even helped me build Aida!”   
“Enough!” Aida screamed, glaring furiously at Radcliffe.  
“Then why don’t I remember you?” Fitz asked as Radcliffe sighed.   
“Because it all happened in the real world,” Radcliffe explained as Aida cut him off.  
“That wasn’t you Fitz, it was their worlds version of you!”   
“And the woman, Jemma Simmons?” Fitz asked as Mick’s mouth opened to speak, only to be electrocuted once again by Aida, dropping to his hands as tears filled his eyes.   
“You were in love, unbreakeable. A force to be reckoned with! You nearly drowned for her, you crossed the bloody universe to rescue her!” Radcliffe said as Aida scoffed.  
“You see what we’re up against? They mean to destroy us,” she said darkly as she and Fitz shared a look, before his focus returned to Radcliffe.  
“She lies because she knows I’m right! She’s trying to deceive you! Ask this boy, Bellouve I believe it was, he should remember if she hadn’t messed up his mind too!” Radcliffe exclaimed as Mick turned to look at Aida almost begging her not to, only for her to squeeze the trigger ruthlessly. He screamed out in agony as the electricity surged through his body, causing him to collapse, convulsing across the dirt and grass.   
“I love you, they’re trying to take you away from me!” Aida snapped releasing the button while Fitz looked at her curiously, then turned back to Radcliffe.   
“The world has changed, but you! You’re not this man! You’re one of the good guys! You help people! This isn’t you!” Radcliffe said with his voice full of confidence, yet trembling due to fear.   
“Please Fitz, believe him,” Mick whimpered as Aida pressed the button again, causing his body to convulse once more.   
Fitz stood silently, looking between Radcliffe and Mick before tightening his grip on the gun. “You believe him too?” Fitz asked glaring down at the charred and dirty face of Mick, who could barely return a nod. “Well, if you really believe I’m not myself, that I don’t know who I am,” he said as Radcliffe interjected.  
“It’s not your fault, any of of!”   
Fitz scoffed as he turned to Agnes, “You’re wrong. I know exactly who I am.” He paused briefly as everyone stared curiously watching him. He then pulled the trigger.   
Time seemed to slow down as Agnes began to fall, Radcliffe began to lunge for the woman, only to have soldiers restrain him, as well as a woman screaming from a distance, sounding like she was crying out for Fitz. Mick watched as Fitz spun around, then lock eyes with Jemma and Sam standing beside her. The soldiers began to fire, as Mick used the little strength he had to kick one, causing him to fire into the tree’s. Aida noticed, electrocuting him once more, this time, everything went dark.


	9. No Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick joins May on a mission to put an end to SHIELD's number one weapon, the Patriot. However, nothing is ever as it seems when it comes to HYDRA.

Mick’s eyes opened seeing and feeling to icy cold concrete floor, as well as a pair of leather black boots before him. He weakly turned over, seeing Aida standing before him with a cold scowl. Something about this moment was familiar, but he couldn’t place why. Thankfully the cuffs were off, but it didn’t change how drained every muscle in his body felt. “How much do you really remember?” Aida asked harshly.  
“Not enough time tell me how I ended up here,” Mick groaned as Aida rolled her eyes.   
“You begged Doctor Fitz to listen to Radcliffe’s prattling, you even moved to defy Fitz when he killed that wretch. Did Jemma wake you up?” She snapped as Mick’s mind snapped into focus.   
“If you’re asking if I’m a subversive, the answer is no. I’m Hydra to the end,” Mick lied, terrified of what could happen.   
“Really? Why don’t I believe you? Is it perhaps because you still don’t remember your biggest regret that you cling to the memories of this world?” She taunted him while pacing the floor.   
“I don’t have any regrets other than leaving Sam behind,” Mick coughed as the pain in his chest intensified.   
“What does the name Daisy mean to you?” Aida asked looking directly at Mick, seeing a tear falling down his face. “So you do remember her.”   
“Only in my dreams,” Mick mumbled as Aida chuckled.   
“Let me be clear with you, because I know you heard everything I said to Radcliffe. If you don’t follow my orders, I will not only have Fitz kill your precious Samantha, but Daisy as well,” she snapped pressing her boot to Mick’s face.   
“What do you want me to do?” Mick murmured as Aida smiled darkly.   
“I have a mission coming up, I want you to go with Agent May, you will kill the Patriot and anyone that stands in your way. One false move, and you know the consequences. Rest up, we should be hearing from them soon.” Aida tapped the window as guards came in, pulling Mick up, the carrying his weakened body through the cold steel of the prisoner quarters. He was sure he heard familiar screams, one he was sure was Daisy. Too bad he couldn’t fight back, rather he just closed his eyes as they brought him to the medical bay. 

A few hours later Doctor Fitz walked in, much to Mick’s surprise. “There’s been a breach, Ophelia is sure it’s the Patriot. You’re going with May to take him down. I want him dead or alive.” Fitz said as Mick nodded. “Hail Hydra,” he said as if it were a test.   
“Hail Hydra,” Mick said taking a deep breath, feeling much stronger than he had in years. 

Mick followed Fitz to the quinjet where May was already waiting. He strapped in, then watched as Fitz injected May with something before he left. The jet lurched as it took off. “You look like you’ve been through hell,” May teased as she twitched due to her injection.   
“This hasn’t been a very pleasant day, let’s just leave it at that,” Mick replied as May smiled.   
“Does it have anything to do with Ward disappearing, or Skye and Samantha being turn coats?” May asked as Mick scowled.   
“Sam isn’t a traitor. I don’t know about Skye and Ward, but I know Sam.”   
“It’s always the closest ones to you that hurt the worst.”   
“You’re the second person to say that, and second one i refuse to believe,” Mick growled as the slumped in his seat.   
“If you let your emotions control you, you’ll find yourself dead.” May said as Mick stared at her. He could have sworn she told him that before, but under much different circumstances. “When we land, I want you to pin down the Patriot with your webs, I’ll kill him myself. I know how you get when pulling the trigger.”   
“I can’t afford to trust that serum, I have my own reasons for needing to see him die.”   
“Guess we’ll see who gets the kill then,” May said smirking.  
“Guess so.”

They landed as a bus pulled away, May tapped her earpiece, as did Mick to be sure comms were active. The back opened as Mick and May raced out seeing two people sprinting in the distance toward the quarantine building. “Eyes on the target,” Mick said as he reached into his jacket pocket pulling out his saber, igniting the current as he rushed ahead.   
“We’ll notify you once Patriot is dead.” May barked as she switched comms to local only.  
“They have multiple agents down, we need to be on guard!”   
“Fine, consider me guarded!” Mick snapped as they caught up to the escaped prisoner and the Patriot, standing just over a ledge where they dock delivery trucks to the mess hall. “What’s the plan?” Mick asked kneeling down as May jumped clear over him, punching the Patriot. “Okay, my kind of plan!” Mick smirked, jumping down, as May and the Patriot went around, blocking and landing blows, only for May to be surprisingly losing.   
“Any time now!” She snapped as The Patriot turned to see Mick.   
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time!” Mick yelled spraying webs from his wrists as they pinned the Patriot to the wall we’re here had slammed May into.   
“Really? An Inhuman working for Hydra? That’s just wrong!” The Patriot taunted, ripping through the webbing then catching Mick’s blade, snapping it clean in half before kicking him away with incredible force. Mick slammed into the concrete wall, while May took lead, swinging a heavy looking steal driving mallet as if it were just a twig, only to have the Patriot continue to block every blow, ultimately catching the hammer and ripping it from her hands. “What, did you figure if you couldn’t beat them, be like them?” He taunted before grabbing May by the collar and slamming her down.   
Mick then jumped back into the fight, shooting webs, only for the Patriot to catch them, and use them to sling Mick into the brick wall.   
“You’re nothing but a terrorist and power using thug!” May barked, barely having the energy to stand.   
“If that were true, you’d both be dead,” he said cooly before leaving Mick and May staggering.   
“Didn’t expect him to be so tough,” Mick groaned wiping the blood from cut on the side of his face where he collided with the bricks.   
“We cannot let him get away,” May growled tapping her earpiece. “I think my serum is wearing off, he overpowered both of us, he’s heading toward the quarantine building.”   
“What could they possibly do?” Mick asked as May hushed him.   
“Yes, there is. Rodger. Q-five you have your orders,” May said firmly as she hobbled toward the quarantine building. “Let’s go, they have a recon team going to meet us. They’re going to bomb the building, we just have to confirm the kill.”  
“Sounds easy enough,” Mick groaned as May asked beside him, each one using the other for balance after their beat down. 

Within minutes the quinjet launched several missiles into the building, blowing massive holes in the sides and front. May and Mick met the team, all of which seemed to be terrified to enter the building.   
“Here I was thinking you chumps were Hydra’s best, you’re nothing but a bunch of cowards,” Mick snapped as the team leader rolled his eyes.   
“If they won’t do it, we will. Body camera’s on, let’s go Mick, we’re going to confirm the kill,” May snatched two rifles from the soldiers, handing one to Mick. He reluctantly took it, then followed behind May without question. They walked to the side of the building, avoiding massive debris before seeing a side entrance with a dark skinned man standing beside the door, wearing white prisoner garbs. May quickly pointed her rifle at him, as he stared in shock, until a teenage boy made his way down the stairs. His hair and body covered in soot, with blood on his head and chest. “What?” May stammered in disbelief as the boy was followed by more kids, each with varying injuries and soot.   
“May, there were people in here!” Mick gasped as May shook her head.   
“Not just people, these are kids,” she said in disbelief. “Why the heck are there kids in here?” May cried out on the comms before pushing past the man clutching her rifle.   
“There’s more upstairs, the place is steadily coming down,” the man said as Mick stared at him. “Please, you’ve got to help them!”   
Mick nodded and made his way up the stairs to catch up with May. They entered a classroom looking place, were stood Jemma, Sam, Ward, Coulson and the Patriot, each trying to uncover kids from the broken ceiling above them. “They need help,” Mick said rushing to help the others, while May stood there, frozen by what she saw.   
“You can’t just stand there these kids need help!” The Patriot barked as he used his strength to rip a massive concrete structure off of a desk that had a student pinned underneath.   
“May! Snap out of it!” Ward barked as he lead another group of students from an adjacent room.   
The roof then began to tremble, dropping massive rocks and dust with it. “Chris!” Coulson yelled as he started to run toward a newly uncovered debris pile on the collapsing floor.   
“Stop!” The Patriot called out, pushing past Coulson, sliding down to start pulling the debris, only for more of the roof to collapse on top of him.   
“No,” Mick said horrified, as he staggered backwards. “This guy, he can’t be as bad as they said.”   
Ward walked over to Mick, patting his shoulder. “Jeffery Mace is a good man.”  
“No, he,” May stammered, staring at the pile of debris in complete disbelief. “He runs Shield, he can’t be good,” she continued with a slight quiver. “He can’t be good, can he?” She finished as Mick turned to Sam, who appeared to be crying.   
“Bad people don’t make that kind of sacrifice,” Coulson said as he continued to stare at the pile himself. The ground steadily began to shake once again.   
“We’ve got to get out of here! The whole place is coming down!” Ward barked, as May refused to take her eyes off the pile.   
“No, I think it’s coming up,” Jemma said with a slight bit of excitement.   
To Mick’s shock, he turned to see Mace pushing up the massive support beam that had fallen with the ceiling. “Come on, we’ve got to help him!” Mick cried, as he and Ward grabbed a large metallic filing cabinet, bringing it closer to the deepening crater.   
“That won’t work,” Mace groaned as he was trembling while using everything he had to hold up the beam. “Make a human chain or something and get this kid, then get out of here!”   
“We won’t leave you!” Sam cried out with Jemma.   
“You don’t have a choice!” Mace barked as Coulson side down into the crater, with Mick and Ward holding on tightly to him as he guided the boy up, and out of the crater.   
Sam then stepped up, trying to form an icy pillar to help Mace escape, while Mick tried to throw webbing to keep the cracking pillar. “I appreciate the effort, but you all need to leave. I can’t hold this much longer.”  
“I’m so sorry,” Sam whimpered as she followed Ward and Jemma out of the room.   
“You’re a good man,” Coulson said as he left, leaving Mick and May standing there staring at Mace, eyes full of respect.   
May and Mace shared a look, as she nodded silently before turning and leaving with Mick on her heels. 

The two sat next to each other on the quinjet, each lost in their own thoughts, only for Mick to break the silence. “So, now we know Sam and Ward are with Shield, what about Skye?”   
“I tricked her earlier and she admitted to being an agent of Shield from another world, as well as knowing several others whom I left out of my records.”   
“Let me guess, I was one?” Mick wasn’t really asking, just trying to pry.   
“Apparently so was I,” she said as if she was questioning her loyalty.   
“May, what if she’s telling the truth? What if we really are from another world?”   
“Don’t worry, we’re going to find out soon enough what is really true. I have a plan. When we get back to HQ, just keep an eye out for my signal,” May said with a coy grin.  
“How am I going to know your signal?”   
“Oh trust me, you’ll know,” May said as Mick shrugged. Whatever she was planning, it must be big, because it was very rare that May smiled this much.


	10. The Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra is lying! Shield was right all along! Now it’s time for Mick and his friends to join the fight, and hopefully break the Hydra reign in attempts to recover everything that was lost!

Mick walked up to his cubical, extremely exhausted from everything that had happened in the last few days. He knew his bruised and bloodied face was drawing attention from other agents, but he didn’t honestly care. He slumped down in his chair wondering just what May’s sign could be, before his mind drifted into questions about the Inhuman attack at the school. That had seemed like a distance memory now, almost like it had no barring on anything. Truthfully, at least if Jemma was correct, it really didn’t matter.   
Mick was sick of Hydra, he had seen the truth that his old friends spoke of, seen Ward’s loyalty to Shield, even the lengths that Jeffery Mace was willing to go to just to save people. His heart ached as he thought about Mace, and memories of him becoming the new director of Shield, the slight resentment Mick held against him with his orders not to chase Daisy, but the overall respect Mick had for him just before he was ambushed by Aida and stuck in this nightmarish prison. He steadily began to think back to what Aida said; “Do you remember your biggest regret?” Unfortunately that answer was no, but the more he thought tried, the clearer it became. Whatever his regret was, it had to do with Sam, and just how he knew that the Sam here wasn’t in the real world with him.   
His thoughts were interrupted by an obnoxious news report that filled every screen in the large office. Mick couldn’t stand Bakshi, it his overly biased reporting, even before his old memories surfaced. He hated lying to the public, deceiving people in general, but that’s just how it was with Hydra. It was also a part of the reason Mick remembered he respected Mace so much. His thoughts were then interrupted by a heavy amount of gunfire coming from down the hall. Without much thought behind it, Mick figured that to be the signal, and pulled his pulse pistol from his desk drawer, and began to open fire on the agents in the room. He was quickly created by both Daisy and May pointing a gun at him, then nodding as he fired on the soldiers behind them.   
“We need to get to the elevator, then garage!” May said firmly as Mick nodded.   
“You look terrible what happened?” Daisy asked as she and Mick stood back to back firing at oncoming Hydra agents.   
“Thanks. It’s been a long day,” Mick replied as the two turned to May.   
“It’s only going to get longer! Cover me!” May yelled as she flipped over a desk, firing two pistols into oncoming agents. She then jumped over the desk, firing and hitting more agents before landing gracefully discharging the empty clips then reloading with the clips on her belt. “Stop staring and let’s move!”  
“Always was quite the show off,” Mick smeared as Daisy chuckled as they followed May through the glass doors which lead to the elevator.   
The doors to the elevator opened as two enforcers stepped out with Aida behind them, smiling in her typical cynical way. “Drop your weapons!” One enforcer yelled, causing Daisy, Mick, and May to stop, dropping their pistols and holding their hands up.   
“How interesting,” Aida said stepping before the enforcers with her arms behind her back. “No matter the circumstances, none of you can escape your true nature. May, the warrior, Mack the protector, Mick the pest, and Fitz, well he’s a romantic.”   
“And me, what I don’t make the list?” Daisy snarked as Aida simplest smirked. Daisy then lifted her hands, shooting pulsing waves, knocking Aida into the open doors of the elevator and through the glass to the outside of the building. Mick then quickly shot webs at the faces of the two enforcers before they could respond, jerking them forward, May kicking one, and himself punching the other.   
“Now that’s the Daisy I fell for,” Mick muttered under his breath as Daisy turned to him curiously which only made Mick regret speaking at all. “Uh, I mean! You guys don’t think I’m a pest, right?”   
“I don’t think your a pest,” Daisy teased as she brushed her hands through his hair. “At least not all the time. Now, let’s get out of here!” She then pressed the button as Mick stared at her, completely unaware just how smitten he was with her. 

After some careful webbing and a few of Sam’s gadgets, they managed to escape the building without being detected. The unfortunate side was Mick was out of gear now, and they only had his and Daisy’s powers to go with May’s unmatched fighting abilities. “What made you decide to join team Inhuman?” Daisy asked as May frowned.   
“When your enemy sacrifices himself to save you, it makes you rethink some things,” May said as they snuck around the building behind a dumpster.   
“Yeah, watching that building collapse on the Patriot.” Mick started as Daisy interrupted.  
“Wait, the Patriot is dead?”   
“Yeah, hard to believe, I know,” Mick sighed as May grimaced.   
“I know what he meant to the resistance,” May said sympathetically as Daisy stared at the ground in disappointment.   
“It’s not just that. We lost one,” she said solemnly as Mick’s eyes widened.   
“Wait, dying in here kills you in the real world?” He questioned as Daisy looked at him with a frown.   
“You two can mourn later, I need your heads in the game!” May barked walking passed the two of them.   
“Sorry,” Mick sighed.  
“Look, I’m trying. I’m still feeling the after effects of the Terragen. It’s like a hangover, with bees stinging me everywhere,”   
“Oh? When did,” Mick started but was quickly cut off by May.   
“I’ve seen what Terragenesis does to people, but what I don’t get is how you can control your powers so quickly.”   
“Oh, so you don’t have your memories yet,” Mick said as May paused and stared at the two.   
“What?” May questioned as Daisy looked at Mick with annoyance.   
“You know what, let’s not get into this here. We need to keep moving,” Daisy insisted as May shrugged, before continuing to lead the way.   
“The resistance must have a base of operations, where is it?” May asked over her shoulder, only for Daisy and Mick to share a look of uncertainty.  
“No clue, we just know a time and place to make contact. We just have to get there,” Mick said as both Daisy and May nodded. 

They continued to sneak around in the shadows doing their best to stay out of eye sight, with Hydra soldiers being carted around in heavily armed military vehicles. “We can’t keep this up on foot, there’s just too many of them. We need wheels,” Daisy said as May snickered.   
“We already committed treason, what’s a little grand theft auto?”   
“Uh, ladies, I think we have a much bigger problem,” Mick said pointing out a lady who seemed to be staring at them clearly uncomfortable, before she turned and ran.   
“What, she could just be racist,” Daisy snarked.   
“Or she’s star struck,” May stared pointing up at the electric billboard showing the three’s pictures with a flashing read message that read Known Terrorists! If you see them, alert Hydra! Armed and Dangerous!   
“Awe, that’s not even a good picture,” Mick groaned as Daisy chuckled.   
“Remember that pest comment? You’re being one,” May snapped as Mick recoiled, and rolled his eyes. “Hurry up and get in,” she said as she pulled the seat forward for Mick, on the decrepit looking sports car.   
“Hope this thing runs better than it looks,” Daisy said grimacing as May climbed in. 

After a long drive in silence, they arrived at a small line of buildings, which is when Daisy decided to break the silence. “Are you sure the Patriot is dead?”   
“Well I mean, a building did fall on him,” Mick stared as Daisy frowned.   
“Not only did we see it fall, Ive got the body cam footage to prove it,” May said as she snuck around to the edge opposite edge of a large metal shipping container, posing herself carefully to see around it. She then peaked around, before walking back to Daisy and Mick. “This is our window, we need to go.”   
Daisy walked up to a white building with a bright red door, knocking hard.   
A man then burst out, pointing a gun at the three of them. “Get out of here!” He snapped.  
“Hey, we’re friend of the resistance!” She said holding her hands up, as both Mick and May followed suit.   
“Hmph. I know who you are, I’ve heard the chatter on the police scanner,” he snapped once again, waving the gun between the three of them.   
“Look man, we weren’t followed, we’ve been super careful!” Mick said as tires began squealing from a black SUV barreling at them from the road to their right.   
“Not careful enough apparently!” May growled as she pulled her pistol from her side , while Mick and Daisy ducked behind the nearby dumpster.   
“Movement! We’ve got contact!” The man cried out in the handheld radio, before gunfire began. The man dropped to the ground as May rushed to his side, kicking the door open and dragging him inside. A soldier then peered through the moonroof, with a grenade launcher, firing. Mick without hesitation shot webs at the two firing from the side windows, as Daisy repelled the grenade with her pulses, sending it straight through the windshield. “Incoming!” She yelled as her and Mick slipped through the door, forcing it closed before the SUV exploded.   
“Nice!” Mick said as he and Daisy shared a smile.   
“We need to barricade these doors, like fast!” Daisy exclaimed as Mick nodded. Without a moment to spare he began webbing it, then the two began shoving everything heavy they could in front of the door.   
“That should hold them for a bit,” Mick sighed as May looked distressed.  
“He’s still breathing, but we to find another way out.” May’s voice was very calm and collected considering the circumstances.   
“Okay,” Daisy said shoving another barrel in front of the door. “How long before do we have they bust in here?”  
“Not long,” May replies as Mick groaned.   
“This won’t be pleasant, they’re going to follow SOP for hostile Inhumans,” Mick groaned as Daisy looked at him questioningly.   
“Sorry, I forget you don’t have memories of this place. Six teams to sweep the area,” Mick replied as Daisy frowned.   
“That’s only until they discover how hunkered down we are. Then they’ll call in an air strike, and sort through the rubble later,” May added, only for Daisy to place her hands on her hips, quite annoyed.   
“So like what they did with the Patriot?” She snapped, as May hung her head in disappointment.   
“No, what I did,” she admitted solemnly.   
“It wasn’t just you May,” Mick said quickly as Daisy stared at the two of them in disbelief.   
“That air strike was on my order,” May snapped, as she stood up, looking at Daisy who clearly didn’t know how to react. She stood silently before shaking her head with a slight grimace.   
“You didn’t know,” Daisy said as both Mick and May stared at the ground.   
“Doesn’t change what I did,” May said somberly.   
“You can’t blame yourself for their lies!” Daisy’s tone shifted from sad to angry. “Once you learned the truth you fought back! That’s what we need! If more people see what you saw, maybe they’ll start to fight back too!”  
“That only works for her, I did know some of the truth! I just refused to accept it, I just wanted to,” Mick’s voice trailed off, “I just wanted to save you and Sam.” Mick finished softly.  
“What?” Daisy asked in disbelief.  
“Fitz threatened to kill you! And I’ve seen him do it once, I didn’t think he could, but he did, and I couldn’t risk losing you or Sam.” Daisy walked over to Mick as he leaned against the metal barrel.   
“Stop, it’s okay. What matters now is that we get through this without losing anyone else,” Daisy said as she rubbed Mick’s shoulders.   
“If that’s the case then we need to prepare now. Can you get me up there?” May asked pointing at the open rafters in the ceiling while looking at Mick.   
“Yeah, no problem!” He replied as he shot a web, testing it’s strength before May climbed up. “Coming?” He asked as Daisy shook her head.   
“I’m better on the ground,” she smirked as Mick shrugged. 

A few moments passed as a door from the other side of the building creaked. This was it, here was team one. May eased her way across the rafters, with Daisy already locked into position behind a large nearby steel container. Two soldiers, May pointed out, one for her, the other for Daisy. Mick clearly wasn’t a fan of this plan, but it was better not to argue at this point. May poised herself above one soldier, while the other crossed in front of Daisy. May dropped down, using her weight to flip the guy over before slamming her fist into his face knocking him unconscious. Meanwhile Daisy grabbed the other, jerking his gun from him and breaking his nose with it, leaving him unconscious as well. Another soldier walked around the corner pointing his gun at the two girls, only for Mick to shoot a web, jerking him up into the rafters then slamming The man’s head before leaving him dangling unconscious.   
“That’s quite enough!” A heavily armed enforcer bellowed as he pointed two assault rifles at the girls and Mick while he motioned for him to come down.   
Before anyone could react, Mack slammed a shotgun into the mask of the enforcer, shattering it, and leaving the poor guy unconscious and probably with a major concussion.   
“Mack?” Daisy asked as Mack turned to them, the pointing his shotgun at May who quickly held up her hands.  
“I’m only here to help you two, not this woman that held my daughter hostage,” his voice was stern, preparing to fire if necessary.  
“It’s not what you think, May has been helping us, without her we wouldn’t be here,” Daisy said as Mick dropped to her side.   
“Trust us, Hydra messed with her head, just like they did with me,” Mick urged as Mack glared.  
“How do you know she isn’t lying?” Mack asked as Mick closed his eyes.  
“Because I trust her,” he said stepping between Mack and May. 

A brief moment later Coulson ran into the room seeing Mack pointing the gun, still uneasy about the whole situation as Daisy and Mick stood between he and May. “This really isn’t a good time to go pointing guns at our allies.”   
“Alpha one report in,” the enforcers radio called out as Coulson groaned.   
“Mack, I get it, wounds don’t heal overnight, but for reasons I can’t fully explain, I trust this woman,” Coulson paused as he walked over, pushing the end of the gun down. “You should too.”   
Another Shield agent with glasses and extremely short brown hair walked in,seeing the group together. “Lucky thing is, these tunnels were built during the prohibition, so there’s another way out!”   
“Great! Lead the way!” Daisy said with a grin as the little man took them into a hidden passage. 

They walked for seemingly miles before things began to look familiar. They passed a few branching paths before finally coming to a single heavy looking glass door. “Welcome to Shield,” Coulson said joyfully as the door slid open.   
“Huh, so Shield base is just like the real world base. Should’ve guessed that,” Daisy said as Mick nodded, understanding now the familiarity of it.   
“And to think, so simple to find when we’ve been looking for it for years,” May said as Mick chuckled.   
“Look, reminisce or whatever you want to call it. I’m going find my little girl,” Mack said, clearly still on edge about May.   
“Thanks for your help,” Coulson said as Ward and Sam walked in from the opposite side of the T shaped hall.   
“To think, we’ve been coming the streets looking for you two,” Ward said as Sam looked at Mick curiously, while he stood much closer to Daisy than he realized.   
“We can take care of ourselves,” Daisy said as Ward smiled at her.   
“We need to get that body cam footage, it could really help the cause,” Coulson said as the room had grown quite uncomfortable. He and May quickly began to walk off leaving Mick, Daisy, Sam, and Ward alone.   
“I, uh,” Daisy paused trying to think of some kind of excuse to leave. “I’m going to go talk with Simmons!”   
“Oh, well she and Agent Trip are on a mission, but it’s clear that we need to talk,” he said looking between her and Mick.   
“Yeah, come with me, Mick,” Sam said causing his heart to drop. That wasn’t a good tone, she was clearly upset, but he wasn’t quite sure why. Partly he didn’t want to leave Daisy, but now wasn’t the time for that. 

They walked into a small empty questioning room, Sam waiting to close the door as Mick entered. “I know about the other world, Jemma told me everything,” she said solemnly as Mick turned to see her sad face.   
“What do you mean Sammie?”   
“She told me all about who you really are, the amazing things you’ve done while working with Shield. She told me how much you care about Skye,” Sam’s voice began to crack as she tried to hold back sobs. “She even told me your biggest regret.”   
Mick stared at Sam, part of his heart was breaking, or at least it felt that way, or maybe it was just an old scab being ripped off. “If you know it, can you tell me? It’s the one thing I just can’t remember.”   
“All of the things you feel for me here, our whole life we have; it’s what you had always wanted. Jemma told me how far you fell when you lost me, to the point of doing some very dark things,” Sam paused as Mick began to get frustrated, slamming his hands on the table.   
“Just tell me already! Why do I love Daisy in that world instead of you?” He snapped as Sam’s eyes widened, only making what she had to say that much harder.   
“Because, I don’t exist there. I died. So did your whole family,” she paused only to rub her eyes her words sent Mick’s mind reeling. “Remember the day we fought Jake, Arachnid, and Pyro? Remember how we won because we were willing to do whatever it took, even killing them to stop them?”   
“Yeah, both Pyro and Reigns both went into custody day. Jake barely managed to escape as well.”   
“That’s not how it really happened in your world, the only reason you killed anyone that day was because Arachnid killed me.” Sam’s tone was solid, but the ground seemed to shatter underneath Mick. He fell into a vortex of memories, beginning with his friendship with Sam, to their awkward dating, prom, him training her to control her powers, then to the very moment she died.   
Mick was locked hand to hand trying to fend off Jake as four pillars burned behind him. He glanced to his right seeing Davis and Patten doing their best to fight off Pyro without getting burned by his blazing arms. To his left, there was Sam, fighting her best keeping Arachnid, and his grotesquely disfigured body, (his six arms, razor sharp fangs, eight eyes, and black fur covering his torso) at bay. Jake swung a black saber just inches from Micks face, only to have Mick use the opportunity to grab Jake and slam his right knee into his gut.   
Jake gasped in pain as Mick watched Arachnid take an smash an icy pillar Sam had used to slow him down, then take a large fragment of ice and jam it straight into her chest.   
The next memory Mick had was him standing over a blood covered Arachnid, with three ice shards through his body. It was then followed by him holding Sam close as she died in his arms, with rain beginning to pour down.   
Finally he remembered standing at the graveyard, Phil Coulson standing with him as well as his three best friends while they lowered the five caskets into their graves.   
“I remember it all now,” Mick said as tears streamed down his face. On one hand he hated that he had these memories back, but on the other, he knew without a doubt that Jemma and Daisy were telling the truth.   
“I’m so sorry this is happening Mick,” Sam said as she embraced him.   
“No, I’m sorry. Part of me had known there was a reason I didn’t want to wake up, that I just wanted to stay here with you.” He continued to sob as the two held each other. “You know I’m always going to love you.”   
“I know that, just like you should know I will always love you. Unfortunately, this isn’t your world, and your world is still going to need you,” Sam said as she pulled away. “And as much as she doesn’t want to admit it, Daisy needs you too.”   
“No, we’re just friends. That’s all we’ve ever been,” Mick said as Sam smiled faintly.  
“Trust me, I saw the way she looked at you. There’s so much more than friendship there, you just have to be brave and let me go.”  
“You won’t be mad?”   
“I just want you to be happy. You’ve been miserable for so long, you deserve to be happy, and she can make you that way in your world.” Sam then embraced Mick once more, before the two walked out of the room, towards the meeting room. 

Ward noticed just how upset Mick was as he made his way over. “I take it she filled you in?”   
“Yeah,”   
“If it’s any consolation, if you promise to take care of Skye, I’ll make sure Sam stays safe. Who knows, maybe the two of you can come back once it’s all over, just to see the new world we’re going to build,” Ward said confidently as Mick watched the footage from May’s body cam on the small television. Daisy walked in at the very end, seeing the building collapsing and the somber look on May’s face.   
“I know getting this footage out isn’t enough to make up for what I did,” she started only for Coulson to interrupt.  
“But it’s a start,” he said full of hope.   
“Changing people’s hearts and minds is great, but I know how to destroy Hydra for good!” Daisy’s words were full of confidence as she turned to Coulson. “Remember the place Jemma and I were looking for? Radcliffe told me where to find it.”  
“So wait, we can go home, and get out of this?” Mick asked as Daisy turned to him with a hope filled smile.   
“Yes! And if we can get there, all of our problems go away!” She started confidently before it quickly faded. “We just need all the help we can get,” she finished in a gloomy tone.   
“That would be too great, but there is no magic bullet to kill Hydra,” May said despairingly. “This footage is a good start, hopefully more people will realize the truth from it.”   
“No! You don’t understand! None of this matters in the long run!” Daisy exclaimed as the room fell silent.   
“No, it still matters. Maybe not to us, but to them,” Mick stepped up.   
“Mick’s right, maybe the best way to escape is to solve their problems.” Coulson added as Daisy stared at the two, seemingly annoyed.   
“What do you mean?” She snapped.   
“Well, getting to those coordinates seems impossible, but maybe if we had a way to divide their forces, but we don’t.” Coulson said as he began to pace around the small room. “Maybe the best way to save ourselves is to save their world.”   
“What’s your plan?” Ward asked as Mick smiled.   
“Well there is this really annoying newscaster, that I’m sure would love some guests on his show,” he suggested as Coulson smirked.   
“So now we’re going to hijack a TV broadcast? Sure why not add more to our rap sheet,” May said as Coulson shrugged.   
“Anyone know how to get there?” He asked as Ward nodded.   
“Oh I’ll get us there,” Ward said in a highly amused tone. 

The drive was quick, and being dark they weren’t too concerned with the drones or people recognizing them. Ward led the way out of the car, with Sam, May and Coulson right behind him. Mick seemed hesitant, which caught Daisy’s attention. “You okay?”   
“I, uh,” Mick stammered as he debated asking Daisy about her feelings, only to nodded his head. “I’m still a bit out of sorts from everything that’s happened,” he lied as Daisy patted his shoulder, then they caught up to everyone.   
“Alright, show us your stuff!” Coulson said as Daisy stepped forward, blasting the door open with her pulses. Everyone quickly filed in pointing their guns at the unsuspecting station hands. “We heard you were looking for some enemies of the state.”   
Ward wasted no time in tying up Bakshi as the others were lead into a small office and told to wait there. “Stay quiet and they won’t have a problem,” Ward snapped.  
“Looks like it’s going fairly well, no one is putting up a fight,” Mick said happily.   
“If you think I’m going to go on live and slander Hydra then you’re delusional!” Bakshi barked as Daisy rolled her eyes. “I’m the most trusted,” his voice was cut off as Daisy pulsed him backwards, sending him and his chair sliding into the wall. “Okay, just put it on the teleprompter then,” he stammered as she walked over to him.   
“We don’t need you to say anything. The facts will speak for themselves,” she said as Bakshi’s eyes widened.   
“Can you get it all set up?” May asked as Daisy nodded walking into the room behind the camera, only for Mick to follow her, leaving Sam and Ward to fix the set while May tidied up Coulson.   
“Hey, do you think when this is all over, and we’re back in our world that we could get a drink?” Mick asked as Daisy paused turning to him with a surprised look on her face.   
“Since when do you drink?” Daisy asked as Mick frowned.   
“After all of this, I think I may want one.”  
“Sure, we can do that,” Daisy said as she returned to setting everything up.   
“Hey, you have everything ready?” Ward asked poking his head in the smaller room.  
“Yeah, just finishing up,” Daisy replied.   
“You know they’re going to swarm this place when they realize what we’re doing,” Ward added. “Sam and I are going to stay behind and keep this place running as long as we can.”  
“What? No! You don’t have to risk yourselves like that!”   
“That’s not really up to you, you guys need to get moving to that location Radcliffe have you. Go back to your world, let us change this one,” Sam said as Davis, Patten, and Jerren walked in, clearly ready for combat.   
“Guys,” Mick started to say only for Sam to cover his mouth.   
“Go get ‘em, Tiger,” she said with a smile as Mick nodded, then followed Daisy out of the room to rejoin the team as they left.


	11. Finally, Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone works together to escape from the nightmares of the Framework!

Mick paced back and forth while various agents watched a small TV airing live footage of the battle at the TV station. Occasionally he would see glimpses of a frozen Hydra Agent or blasts from Jerren’s armor. As well as clips of various individuals being arrested and tied down or brutalized for their supposed traitorous actions. “You may want to calm down there, you’ll put a hole in the floor if you keep that up,” Coulson remarked as he leaned walked into the room, leaning back against the small wall behind the other agents. Mick paused for a moment, turned to Coulson with a frown before huffing and returning to his pacing. “Maybe you can calm him down?” Coulson asked nudging Daisy, breaking her transfixed gaze at the screen, looking at the clearly distraught Mick. She stood up walking over to him, placing her arms on his shoulders, which caused him the freeze, looking down at her, face to face.  
“They’re just data, as terrible as it seems, they’re all safe in the real world,” she said as Mick frowned.  
“Not all of them,” he gruffed.  
“Okay, Samantha and Ward aren’t, but you hated Ward, and Samantha has been,”  
“Don’t you say it.” Mick snapped as Daisy let him go, clearly upset. “It’s hard to put into words just how real these memories feel. Maybe I’ll feel better once we’re out.”  
“Sorry,” she sounded pretty upset. “At least we will be out of this soon. As soon as,” Daisy paused looking around Mick, her face beaming.  
“Trip!” She exclaimed, running over to him embracing him. “It’s so good to see you!”  
“Hey,” he sounded slightly confused, which made perfect since to Mick, since the real world Trip had been dead for a while and he’d only seen Trip in the Framework at the quarantine building which Mick had hoped Trip forgot about. “It’s nice to see you too, person I don’t know.”  
“Right,” Daisy said releasing him quickly, quite embarrassed it seemed. “I, uh,” she stammered before Mick stepped up behind her.  
“You’re quite the legend around here, we were just talking about you. Mick, Mick Bellouve,” he said holding out his right arm.  
“Nice to meet you too, glad my good deeds don’t go unnoticed,” Trip said with a face wide grin.  
“Um, do you mind if we have a quick word?” Jemma asked eluding to Mick and Daisy as Trip shrugged.  
“Sure thing,” Trip smiled before looking at Daisy with a seductive glance. “And you can finish hugging me later,” he said with a wink before walking away, causing Mick to huff. Even in the Framework Trip was still quite the ladies man, which somehow surprised Mick due to the level of details Aida managed to keep correct.  
“Aida is building a human body in the real world,” Jemma said causing Mick to state curiously.  
“She must want free will!” Daisy said disgusted.  
“Precisely. That would allow her to unplug the Framework, killing us all,” Jemma explained as Mick’s eyes widened.  
“You said Radcliffe gave you some coordinates, right?” He asked looking at Daisy.  
“Yeah, that’s how we’re going to stop her. All we have to do is pass through the Exit point and we’re awake and out,” Daisy said nervously as Jemma and Mick realized the true challenge of this situation.  
“May isn’t going to believe something like that,” Mick said as Jemma nodded.  
“Mack isn’t going to want to leave his daughter, and Fitz has Hydra guards around him at all times,” Jemma said as Mick and Daisy looked at each other before Daisy looked at Jemma.  
“We can’t rescue Fitz right now, there isn’t enough time,” Daisy replied as Jemma looked as if someone knocked the wind out of her.  
“We can’t just leave him here! He’s part of our team!”  
“And he’s the current head of Hydra,” Mick said harshly. “I’m sorry, but we’re not on good terms at the moment. Plus, Aida isn’t going to hurt him, they’re kind of a thing.”  
“He’s right, we need to get everyone else out, then we can get Fitz! I promise Simmons, we will save him!” Daisy said as Jemma sighed.  
“Fine,” she groaned as she sulked toward the TV, watching in horror.  
“Go gather the team and get everything set up and I’ll deal with this,” Mick said with a half hearted grin. Daisy hugged him briefly, before running off to gather everyone.  
“So, you’re not trapped in the same place as I am?” Mick asked as Jemma looked around the other agents before looking at Mick curiously, pulling him away.  
“No, Daisy and I are on the Zephyr, you and the others are in Ivanov’s base,” Jemma explained.  
“Oh,” Mick said slightly surprised.  
“Mick, what’s this about?” Jemma asked slightly annoyed.  
“I was just curious as to what happens when we wake up,” he replied as Jemma frowned.  
“We planned to come save you, just had to be sure we could save all of you first,” Jemma said as she watched Agent May walk away from the TV with Coulson behind her.  
“We’ll figure out how to save Fitz too, after all, without you two who am I going to spill my secrets to?” Mick said softly.  
“You’re feelings for Daisy aren’t quite a secret,” Jemma said with a grin. “Neither are hers toward you.” She winked with a sly grin before running off to follow May, leaving Mick standing alone, quite confused.  
“What did you mean by that?” He asked, only for Jemma to ignore him as she followed May. Did Daisy have feelings for him too? When did that happen? How in the heck did he miss that? Just what all happened when he was trapped in the Framework? How long has it really been? His mind spun laps as he thought it best to see if Shield had any equipment he could use when they left.  
It wasn’t long before Trip walked out of the briefing room, ordering agents to begin preparation for a long trip. They all began moving like ants, all without knowledge that their whole world could be ending very soon.  
Time was ticking away, and Mick wasn’t sure what to expect, so he packed a few pistoles, two batons, and a few small smoke bombs into his jacket pocket. He walked back into the hallway, staring at the eagle logo painted in black on the wall, then looked down at his jacket. “That would look really cool in silver on my pocket.”  
“Hey, have you seen Simmons?” Daisy asked clearly worried.  
“Nope, not since earlier when she went to speak with May,” Mick said, turning to Daisy to see the worry written all over her. She then groaned as Mick longed to help.  
“Crap! She’s got to be here somewhere!” Daisy fussed as she stormed away.  
Mick shrugged as he went to help finish loading the jet, “I sure hope she’s not doing something stupid.”  
Another hour passed at preparations were complete, Coulson, May, and Mack were buckling into the cargo area as Daisy frantically paced between Trip and the exit ramp. “Daisy, she’ll show up,” Mick tried to catch her, only for her to avoid him.  
“We can’t just leave without her!” Daisy growled as she walked toward the exit ramp, pausing this time. “Simmons?” She asked before running down the ramp.  
Mick walked toward the ramp seeing the two talking, breathing out a sigh of relief. “There we go, we should be good now,” Mick said to himself as he found a seat close to the front. 

The flight was quite long, and very quiet. It seemed as if Jemma and Daisy preferred it, as they both wore intense looks. Mick glanced over the team, with one thought lingering in his head. Was their escape really going to be that easy? Trip walked back, opening the hatch. “If these coordinates are correct, we should find this thing up ahead,” May said jumping up and leading the way down into the massive steel mill. Coulson, Mack, and Jemma followed quickly as Mick hesitated on the ramp, nodding at Trip, who responded with a skeptical look, before turning to Daisy who paused before him. Mick wanted to wait for Daisy, but seeing that May clearly wasn’t interested, he decided to head down and attempt to slow her down himself. Thankfully it didn’t take too much longer for Daisy to catch up. May then continued to lead the way using a small gps device.  
“I don’t like this, it doesn’t feel right,” Daisy said as she walked beside Mick and Jemma.  
“Nothing about this corrupt mess of a world feels right! This disgusting digital hell!” Jemma stated as Daisy shook her head.  
“That’s not what I mean! Radcliffe said it should be a public fountain, not a creepy steel mill,” Daisy replied as Jemma shook her head.  
“Well I’m sure Aida had her hands in this. Just like our own device not working. But of course, if things went like we planned we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Jemma groaned as Mick noticed Coulson and May running ahead.  
“Who’s to say she had the ability to mess with the exit?” Mick asked as Jemma frowned, before twirling with her arms out.  
“Look around you Mick, does this look like a park?” Jemma stated in an out of fashion sarcastic way.  
“Well, no,” Mick said as Jemma grinned sarcastically.  
“Then Aida messed with it,” she said flatly as Mick frowned.  
“You have to keep hoping Simmons, this is our last chance to get out,” Daisy said glumly.  
“Hey! We found it!” Coulson said jogging back to them.  
They all ran forward pausing at a catwalk overlooking a large pool of molting steel. “No, this can’t be it,” Daisy said defeated.  
“The coordinates lead right here,” May snapped.  
“It’s weird that it leads to a pool of molten steel. You think Radcliffe gave us bad intel?” Coulson asked as Daisy sighed.  
“Radcliffe is a prisoner at Hydra, why would he lie?” Daisy replied.  
“Maybe someone else found it and took it!” May insisted as Daisy groaned in annoyance.  
“The backdoor is a structure built into the framework, no one can just take it,” Daisy said as Jemma gasped.  
“No, but it could become sealed,” Jemma started as her mind kicked into overdrive. “What if Aida discovered the backdoor and built this place over it to prevent anyone from getting through?”  
“Whoa, hold on. What is this backdoor everyone keeps talking about?” Mack asked, trying to piece everything together.  
“Wait no one told you?” Mick asked in shock.  
“Told me what?” Mack responded as May leaned forward.  
“About the magic portal to the other world,” she said sarcastically.  
“Portal to the other world? I thought we were getting a weapon to take out Madam Hydra!”  
“Not quite a weapon for here, but back there,” Mick interjected as Coulson began to get frantic.  
“What does this mean for us?” He asked.  
“It means, Aida has won,” Jemma replied solemnly.  
“No, I refuse to accept that!” Mick stated boldly as May shoved him.  
“You seriously believe there is a magical backdoor to transport us to some other world?” May barked as Mack began to pace, holding his head in his confusion.  
“It’s not magic May, it’s science. We go through, we wake up,” Jemma tried to exlplain only for May to scoff.  
“And you both believe this insanity?” She sneered looking between Coulson and Mick.  
“We just have to trust that it’s true,” Mick said firmly  
“Admittedly it doesn’t sound great when you say it like that,” Coulson said almost deflated.  
“You all lied to me,” Mack growled staring fiercely at Daisy.  
“Whoa,” Mick tried to step in, only to be pushed back by Mack.  
“No. No one is talking their way out of this,” he snapped not removing his focus from Daisy. “My daughter looks up to you, and you bring me out here on some wild goose chase, for what?”  
“She was just trying to help,” Jemma said in her solemn tone.  
“Help? How? By taking me away from my daughter and whisking me off to some other world?” He barked as Coulson stepped in.  
“Guys, I think we need to find a plan B,” the confidence in his voice was resounding.  
“Good! That means you’ve finally come to your senses and realized we need to get out of here!” May exclaimed as Coulson shook his head.  
“Not exactly, I still believe them. I think we should find another way to get around the molten metal and through the back door,” he said only met by a groan from May.  
“Stop, there is no backdoor, just like she’s not Moses about to take us to the promised land,” Mack growled as a sparkle twinkled in Daisy’s eye.  
“What if that’s it?” She exclaimed as both Jemma and Mick stared curiously.  
“What if what is it?” Mick asked as Daisy smiled.  
“What if I quake the lava?” She asked as Jemma smirked.  
“Like parting the Red Sea?” Jemma asked as Daisy smiled.  
“You did not just go and use the Bible against me,” Mack said, quite shocked as everyone looked over the catwalk.  
“If it fits,” Mick said smugly.  
“Hydra!” May exclaimed, whipping out her pistol firing it down below as everyone noticed the oncoming agents, as they also began to return fire.  
There was now a fire fight, with Mick falling back with Daisy and Mack. “How do they keep finding us?” Mack asked as they ducked behind a wall.  
“Well, I guess it could have been a trap?” Mick suggested as Daisy shook her head.  
“No, I bet this is because they know we can escape! Only one way to find out!” Daisy said with a grin. “Are you with me?” She asked holding her hand out to Mick.  
“Always,” he replied as she helped him up.  
“Oh Bellouve, come out, come out, where ever you are!” A deep dark voice called out, sending chills down Mick’s spine.  
“Who’s that?” Daisy asked as Mick’s face went pale.  
“Carson,” Mick growled as he pulled out the two pistoles from the holsters.  
“Let me guess, someone from your past?” Daisy asked as Mick nodded.  
“We’ll talk later! This guy is a complete lunatic! I’ll distract him, you work on getting everyone out of here!” Mick called out running to the edge of the catwalk.  
“Mick!” Daisy called out as he paused briefly. “You better come back.” Mick smiled jumping down, using his webbing to catch himself as Jake fires at him along with other Hydra agents.  
“Let me guess, your new girlfriend held you up? I know it wasn’t Sammie, she’s locked up at Hydra base with your old pal, Grant Ward. Jake taunted as Mick landed then without hesitation, webbing the two Hydra agents beside Jake to the wall before pointing the two pistols at him.  
“I really don’t have time for this,” Mick growled as Jake pulled his blade off his back, his jet black cloak open to his bare chest, showing the metal plates now fused to him, which lead to his left arm, as well as down his left side to his let black baggy jeans, and to his legs.  
“Oh the doctor filled me in on your supposed escape plan after giving me a few upgrades to handle your new friends,” Jake said trusting his left arm out, as a quake pulsed, launching Mick into the wall, causing metal to fall from the shelves, clanging to the ground loudly.  
“Grand,” Mick groaned pulling himself up, realizing he dropped the pistols mid flight. He then reached for the two batons he had in his pockets, flicking his wrists to extend them as the face a loud click locking into place.  
“How did you like my little return to service present? Did you know it was me?” Jake taunted as he sliced threw a Hydra agent due to him pointing a gun at Mick. “This one is mine, you focus on the other worlders!” He snapped as they all immediately acknowledged him.  
“I didn’t want to believe they would keep you alive, but I’m not surprised after everything I’ve seen. Hydra has a thing for turning on their own,” Mick growled as Jake smiled darkly.  
“Turning on their own? Hah! What a hypocrite! You’re the king of betrayers!” Jake yelled out pointing his blade at Mick as they circled each other. “First you betray your old friends to join Hydra, then you betray Hydra to fight for SHIELD, and to top it all off, you betrayed both, your wife Samantha and best friend Ward for your precious Skye Johnson, who wasn’t even yours to begin with!”  
“Shut up!” Mick screamed as he lunged at Jake, the batons catching his blade, with a loud clang and sparks.  
They continued to clash, Mick blocking every swing to the best of his ability, only for Jake to jump backwards, smirking darkly as he looked up. Mick’s eyes followed, seeing Coulson running for the pit, only to be hit by a rogue bullet. “No!” Mick cried out as he watched Coulson crumble to the ground.  
“He’s not even your real friend Mick! He’s just a teacher!” Jake taunted as he thrust his arm out, blasting Mick again.  
“No!” Mick yelled using his webbing to catch himself on the bottom of the catwalk, swinging back toward Jake as he tried to recover from the spent energy. Mick’s foot collided with Jake’s face, sending him crashing to the floor with Mick landing just in front of him ready to attack. “You’re not real! You’re just data! All of this is!” Mick screamed as he slammed his fist into the floor, where Jake once was.  
“You’ve let the Subversives brainwash you! Think about who you really are!” Jake screamed as he swung his saber down, leaving Mick very little time to stop the blade, inches before his face.  
“No, I know who I am. My name is Mick Bellouve. I am an Agent of SHIELD,” Mick said boldly as he used all of his strength to push Jake’s blade backwards, while forcing himself up. “I am a protector of my team, no, not my team. My family. I will protect them from you this time!”  
“What?” Jake gasped as Mick began slashing relentlessly. Mick’s aggressiveness caused him to stagger backwards, until Jake grabbed the baton with his left hand, crushing it within his metallic hand. Mick, without wasting any time, slammed his fist into Jake’s face, sending him staggering into the bowl of molten metal behind him. He screamed as his skin seared, dropping his saber, then pushed himself away from it with his left hand. “How?” Jake asked in astonishment, as Mick held the saber at Jake’s neck.  
“I’ve always been better than you!” Mick yelled as Jake tried to use his left hand to block the saber, only for the adamantium to slice through it with ease.  
Jake collapsed on the ground, screaming in pain as a mix of blood and oil poured from his arm. Mick then slammed his foot into Jake’s face, sending him crashing into a few Hydra soldiers. He then quickly webbed his way up, pulling himself up with Mack’s help. “Where’s Coulson?” Mick asked as Mick pointed at the pit, before they all ducked down to avoid gunfire.  
“May took him, still no sign of Jemma yet,” Daisy called out as Jemma’s pain filled scream echoed.  
“Jemma!” Mick yelled as he started to poke his head up, to see Radcliffe walking with an unconscious Fitz in his arms easing his way to the edge of the catwalk across from them.  
“Fitz?” Daisy asked in confusion as Radcliffe nodded. “Right,” she said, quaking the lava pit. Radcliffe tossed Fitz down into the pit as Jemma quickly followed. “Mack, Mick, who’s next?”  
“I’m not going,” Mack insisted.  
“Mack, you have people who love you on the other side!” Daisy pleases as Mack shook his head.  
“What about Hope? Is she there?” He asked as both Mick and Daisy looked at the ground.  
“But she’s not real Mack, nothing here is,” Mick said sympathetically.  
“They might not be real in the other world, but she’s real to me right here. She has fears, hopes, dreams. That makes her real in my book.” Mack said as Mick knew what he meant. “I’ve spent countless nights holding her because she had nightmares. We’ve stayed up late watching movies. We’ve made memories, now tell me, how does that make her unreal!”  
“It doesn’t make her less real here,” Mick admitted solemnly.  
“So you agree with me?” Mack asked as Mick sighed.  
“No, I don’t agree with you staying. I just understand why you don’t want to leave,” Mick admitted as Daisy stared at them briefly.  
“What about Yo-Yo? She needs you,” Daisy asked as Mack frowned, shaking his head.  
“Tell her I’m sorry, my daughter needs me too,” Mack said as he turned away from them.  
“Mack please,” Daisy begged as he walked away.  
“There’s no changing his mind right now, best thing we can do is get out of here and protect his body from Aida!” Mick said as Daisy sighed.  
“Alright I’ll open it for you,” she said as Mick shook his head.  
“No, we go together or I’m not going at all,” he insisted as Daisy smirked. “I’m not leaving you to chase after Mack on your own.”  
“Fine, have it your way!” Daisy groaned as Mick turned away, waiting for her to jump on his back. With a quick jump, she was on his back, and he jumped using a web to hold them over the pool of lava.  
“Ready?” He asked as she leaned over his left side, quaking the pool revealing the exit.  
“See you on the other side,” she said as he let go of the web, the two falling into the exit as everything flashed a brilliant green. 

Mick’s eyes shot open as he touched his cheek, he could’ve swore she kissed him just as they entered the pool. “It’s about time!” Coulson teased as Mick blushed. “Sorry, what did I miss?” He asked as he turned to the right see a decapitated Aida, with a very bloody May standing beside her and Mack still asleep in his pod. To his left Coulson standing beside a mortified Fitz trying to comfort him.  
“Don’t blame yourself Fitz,” he said as Fitz chattered nervously until the door behind them opened. Mick struggled to stand, as his body had been out of commission for quite a while it seemed.  
“We did it Leopold,” a bone chilling female voice came from the other side of the door. Aida walked in, only there was something new about her, she seemed much more human. Mick stared at her in shock as Fitz stood up to examine her.  
“Wait a second, there’s two of her?” Coulson sounded just as shocked as Mick felt.  
“Fitz move and I can end this!” May called out as Fitz continued to stand still, completely transfixed on what was before him.  
“Ophelia?” Fitz asked as Aida smiled.  
“We did it Fitz, I’m a human! Your machine worked!” She cheered.  
“Fitz move! Take the shot May!” Coulson bellowed as Fitz continued to stand in shock and amazement.  
“Fitz move!” Mick joined in as Fitz seemed as if he couldn’t here them. “Fine, if you won’t move, I’ll move you!” Mick cried out throwing his wrists forward, two streams of webs launching out. Aida the scowled, grabbing Fitz, teleporting away leaving only a puffy black cloud that dissolved quickly.  
“Since when can she do that?” Coulson asked as glanced between the stunned Mick and May.  
“I don’t know, but I certainly don’t like it,” May said recomposing herself.  
“Neither do I,” Mick said as Coulson shook his head. “What do we do now?”  
“We find our team,” Coulson said boldly as he looked at the still unconscious Mack resting peacefully in his pod.


	12. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick and the team return to the real world only to find out their return isn’t as peaceful as they would’ve liked.

The moment of positivity faded quickly when a man with long brown hair, a full beard, a very dark expression, and a thick Russian accent opened the large door and walked into the pod room. “Who the heck is this guy?” Agent May asked as she poised her pistol for an attack.   
“Oh yeah,” Coulson chuckled slightly. “Forgot, you missed quite a bit huh?”  
“Clearly,” Mick groaned.   
“Well, short version, he’s bad, shoot him,” with his permission, May fired two rounds nailing the man twice in the chest.   
“Uh, what?” Mick stammered as the man lunged for Coulson as if nothing happened.   
He slammed Coulson into Mick and May, before spinning him around and slamming him into a large pipe.   
“I have been waiting so long for these restrictions to be lifted,” the Russian smirked as he raised Coulson off the ground by his throat. “Now you have no shield to hide behind!”   
“Well, that’s not exactly true,” Coulson choked out, as a shield materialized from his bionic hand, slicing through half of the man’s face. The Russian fell backwards revealing his robotic skull, dropping Coulson in the process.   
“Robots?” May asked, helping Mick up.   
“Like I said, you missed a fair amount,” Coulson stared at an army of the Russian man before just pressing the button to close the door.   
“Well that went from bad to worse,” Mick sighed.   
“What a welcoming party,” May’s sarcasm was as dry as ever.   
“I don’t know what’s worse, dealing with Hydra and Aida or this,” Coulson groaned.  
“At least we’re not Hydra anymore,” Mick tried to reassure everyone.   
“Yeah, but we have no idea what they were really after in there,” Coulson snapped. “Well, you two might.”  
“Not a true clue,” Mick replied.  
“Me either,” May barked.

After explaining how Mick and May had been replaced by Life Model Decoys, and a very uncomfortable manner. Things sat quiet while Coulson began trying to short out the door so it couldn’t open from the other side. “So how did things end with Robby Reyis?” May asked trying to ease the tension. “Last I remember we were chasing his uncle.”   
“Well, guy tried to become a god, then Ghostrider drug him to another dimension with his fiery chain,” Coulson sounded very nonchalant.   
“Huh, that well?” May smirked. “That’s nice.”   
“I can’t say I remember any of that,” Mick frowned. “Last thing I truly remember was Daisy chasing the Watchdogs, and then I went to have some drinks and see what Fitz see’s in soccer at Radcliffe’s house and then Aida attacked me.”   
“See nothing good ever happens when you drink,” Coulson teased as Mick snorted. He was right though.   
“I still can’t believe it took you that long to figure out I wasn’t myself,” May teased as Coulson rubbed his head.   
“Yeah, like you’ve never been robotic before,” Coulson teased back. He and May shared a very curious look before Coulson broke the silence. “There, now no one is getting in here.”   
“So what’s the plan then?” Mick asked with a frown.   
“Well, we’ve got to protect Mack, and find a way to control this base,” Coulson made it sound easy.   
“That wouldn’t be so bad if we knew where we were or how to reach our team for assistance,” Mick griped. Coulson smiled as he looked out of a small window as a fish passed by.   
“I think I know where we are,” Coulson exclaimed. “Seems like a Soviet refueling station underneath an oil rig, one from the early nineteen fifties I’d bet.”   
“How did you piece that together, from the one fish you saw?” May asked as she dug through a few bags of supplies she found tucked away in a cabinet.   
“No, back in the framework I was a history teacher, quite the Cold War buff,” Coulson seemed quite proud of himself.   
“You sound like that’s good news or something,” May sounded rather annoyed with her findings. “Oh, an emergency dose of Epinephrine, I could use that.”  
“No! Absolutely not,” Coulson said as Mick stared at them curiously. They had a very tension filled relationship, almost akin to his own with Daisy.   
“I could use it to help take on the tin cans,” May said sharply.  
“No, I’ll do it, or Mick can,” Coulson replied harshly.   
“I need to take one for the team,” May urged as Coulson continued to reject the notion.  
“Who knows what will happen when it wears off! You could be unconscious, unresponsive, you name it!” Coulson barked.  
“Then you can just give me mouth to mouth!” May barked back, Coulson paces around before pausing, then staring at the ground uncomfortably. Mick pondered for a moment, then May spoke exactly what he was thinking.  
“Did something weird happen between you and my LMD?” Coulson stayed uncomfortably quiet, as May walked closer to him. “Did it make a move on you? Or tried to kill you?”   
“Kill me,” Coulson almost sounded like he was questioning before nodding. “Yup, you tried to kill me, that’s what happened.” He looked quiet uncomfortable as May shook her head.   
“Well, I’m sorry, let’s just add it to the list,” she turned away.   
“This just can’t get any more awkward,” Mick muttered to himself, as he walked to the window staring into the endless depths. 

“You might want to get ready, Web’s, because this isn’t going to be an easy fight,” May smirked as Mick shook his head.   
“You too? Man, at least go with Recluse,” Mick shook his head with a smile.   
“At least your smiling. If I calculated right, the Russian and his LMD’s are probably working on getting through that door as we speak,” Coulson said as Mick nodded.   
“Probably,” Mick agreed.   
“How do you want to do this?” Coulson asked as May drank the bottle of epinephrine. “Seriously?”   
“I’ll be fine with the two of you here,” May smirked as Coulson couldn’t protest. “Doors moving, brace yourself.” 

Three LMD’s walked in, only to be ambushed by May, Coulson and Mick. May used a prybar bashing the LMD, it’s metal bones clanging with each hit. Coulson used his robotic hand, while Mick used a metal rod. “Keep them away from Mack!” Coulson called out as May jumped on the back of her assailant slamming its head repeatedly.   
Mick exchanged blows, a few of the Russians landing right in his chest. Mick growled as his frustration swelled with his pain, before he gave up on not using his powers. He kicked the LMD backwards, then webbed his face, causing it to stagger slightly. He then used his strength to jam the rod through the head of the LMD, causing it to fall lifelessly to the ground. He turned to see May and Coulson finishing their foes as well. “Yeah, don’t like robots,” Mick groaned.   
May then collapsed, Coulson and Mick rushed to her side, pulling her up on their shoulders. “Me either kid,” May sighed.   
“Something feels off,” Coulson started as Mick and May both stared at him. “If they wanted us dead, why not just flood the place?”  
“You’re right,” Mick said suspiciously.  
“It’s like they were stalling,” May huffed, she was becoming quite fatigued due to the epinephrine.   
“But why?” Mick asked aloud as they went searching for a way out.   
“Here, let me take May, you check over there. We need some kind of elevator,” Coulson said, Mick nodded.   
Mick then walked around the corner opposite of Coulson and May, before feeling the facility shake wildly. He noticed the elevator, then went running back to Coulson and May, seeing water rushing into the facility. “Found an elevator,” he huffed.   
“Good, we need to get May up top,” Coulson said firmly.  
“You go, I‘ll see if I can get Mack,” Mick said as Coulson seemed to want to argue while Mick lead them to the elevator.  
“Be careful, that water is coming in fast,” Coulson warmed as Mick nodded.   
“You guys be careful too,” Mick smiled. He rushed back to the room, sloshing through the cold water. His muscles trembled as he tried to adjust to the temperature to no avail. He reached Mack, two of the other pods already shorted out, and the water was still rising quickly.   
“Dang it Mack, why couldn’t you just freaking jump?” Mick groaned as he tried pulling up on the pod, the water now coming up to his waist. “No, no, no!” Mick splashed the water, carefully pulling Mack without taking off his headgear.   
The water was now up to their necks as Mick used the pod to pull Mack slightly higher. “Well, so much for getting out,” he sighed. “What a crappy way to go. Least you won’t realize it.” Mick’s body trembled wildly.   
A black smoke appeared, as Aida and Fitz grabbed hold of Mick and Mack. Before Mick could respond, they vanished.   
The smoke cleared, and Mick felt the cold familiar floor of the Zephyr. His body shivered as he tried to make sense of how he arrived here.   
“You did it,” Fitz said standing beside a very pleased looking Aida. Before she could reply, she collapsed to the ground. Jemma and Piper stood with icers pointed at Aida and Fitz. “Jemma?” Fitz started before collapsing to the ground himself.   
“I have Mick and Mack, bring the others home,” Jemma said touching her ear. 

After being dried off and warm, Daisy walked over to Mick’s bunk. “How are you feeling?”   
“Slightly disoriented,” Mick smirked “Still trying to sort out what’s real, and you?”   
“Oh I’m great, finally have our team back together, even though Mack and Fitz are unconscious. We’ve got the murder bot psycho locked up,” Daisy replied as Mick stared at her for a brief moment. “What? Is there something on my face?”   
“No, it’s nothing,” Mick lied. He wanted to ask if she really kissed him, but it didn’t seem right.   
“We’re heading back to base, I’m going to go check on May,” Daisy said with a smile.   
“I’ll head that way shortly,” Mick smiled back. Something happened, Daisy wasn’t normally that nice to him. 

They landed in the ruins of their base, Piper and Davis working on getting the Zephyr restocked and refueled, while Coulson and May went to set up the holding container. Mick walked with Jemma down the dark corridors as he could see through the light mounts on their pistols just how much pain she was in.  
“Can I ask you something?” Jemma finally spoke.   
“Sure,” Mick paused.  
“Do you think Fitz is in love with Aida?”   
“Not a chance!”   
“Even in the framework?” That question was much harder to process. Everything felt real in there, but in the end his true memories won out.   
“I don’t think anyone could take your place Jemma,” Mick said with a smile   
“I want to believe that, but that about you and Samantha?” Mick couldn’t respond. It was true, he loved Sam in the framework, but she wasn’t the real Sam, who he did love as well.   
“It’s a little different with Sam, at least I think,” Mick said as Jemma reached for a switch pressing the button so lights came on. “I loved Sam while she was alive, Fitz has always loved you.”  
“But did your feelings effect how you feel about Daisy?” Mick sighed as he realized just how concerned Jemma was.   
“No, I still care about Daisy. Those feelings were just locked away with my memories of this world,” he said softly. “I would bet it was the same with Fitz.”  
“I guess we’ll see,” she frowned, finishing up preparations to the containment room. 

They returned to Zephyr One, and lowered the containment unit into the room. “So what’s the plan for Aida?” Daisy asked as Coulson paced on the loading dock.   
“Well, it’s complicated,” Coulson sighed.   
“No it’s not, we cut her head off just like last time, and be done with it,” Yo-yo said bitterly.   
“We can’t just kill her!” Mick exclaimed as Yo-yo stared at him skeptically.  
“Mick’s right, she’s not just a robot anymore,” May said as Yo-yo huffed.   
“Let’s just take a moment there Sweeney Todd. She’s a human now, apparently everything she did was to escape Radcliffe’s programming,” Coulson said almost sympathetically.   
“She saved Mack and Mick,” Daisy added, only for Jemma to roll her eyes.   
“That doesn’t matter! Look at everyone she’s killed!” Yo-yo argued.  
“We’re not taking any more lives, and that’s that,” May barked.   
“Okay, well then, next question,” Coulson said solemnly.   
“What do we do with Fitz?” Daisy sighed. No one wanted to answer, nor could they even look up at Jemma.   
“I asked Mick already, but what do you two remember of your framework lives?” Jemma looked at Coulson and May, who both wore the same agonized expression.  
“Everything, it’s like both sets of memories are just a part of me,” Coulson said.  
“But none of it was me,” May finished the sentence for Coulson.  
“So it was all like a vivid dream?” Jemma asked.   
“Not a dream Simmons. It was a life,” May said softly.  
“But,” Jemma began to break down. “Does it all still feel real?” She didn’t stay for a response, instead she left, wiping her eyes.   
“We should go after her,” Daisy said as Mick stepped forward.   
“I’ll go,” he said as Coulson nodded, almost as if he gave him permission. 

Mick caught up to Jemma leaning against the lab doors, holding the monitor for the Containment room, tears streaming down her face, sobbing slightly. “Jemma,” Mick tried to console her, as she leaned on his shoulder.   
“She’s in love with him,” Jemma moaned.   
“But he doesn’t love her,” Mick said as Jemma picked up the device after Aida screamed.   
“We need to get him out of there!” Jemma said as she ran back to the loading ramp.   
“I’ll find Davis, he has the key!” Mick ran toward the bunks.   
“Aida is flipping out, we need to get Fitz out now!” Mick called over the radio, before following Jemma into the loading bay, only to be met by General Talbot and a few soldiers pointing their guns at them.   
“We’re not robots Glenn,” Coulson said as calm as he could be.   
“Every one of you will be considered a C3PO unless I give the command!” Talbot barked as he walked over toward Daisy, who Mick had eased his way over toward. “If she so much as freaking blinks I want her down.” Talbot smiled coldly as Mick sneered furiously, almost daring Mick to test his order.  
“Is all of this necessary?” Coulson asked as Talbot turned to him so full of rage, his veins were pulsing.   
“It’s essential!” He yelled. “Unless you can explain to me in fifty words or less why I found Jeffery Mace’s body washed up on the beach with his bones quakes apart just days after I found this base burned, robots with their faces melted off!” He continued to yell louder as he paced about. “There were twelve wounded Shield agents, three dead from two shots each in the chest and their freaking skulls crushed!” Talbot seemed to feel slightly better about all of his yelling, before turning back to Coulson. “Think you can explain all of that?”  
Coulson looked at Talbot for a moment, then smiled impishly. “I can try.”   
Talbot glared at Coulson while he tried to explain everything that had happened over the last few days. Coulson finished up by telling him about the oil rig, the Talbot shook his head. “You expect me to believe any of that?” He asked bitterly. His radio then began crackling as soldiers cried out about something attacking from everywhere. “What does that mean?” Talbot looked around to see who would be missing from the group. “Where’s your Speedy Gonzales girl? Who the heck is attacking us?”  
Coulson shook his head as May gasped. “Aida got out.”   
“What the heck is an Aida?” Talbot growled, pointing their guns at the team.  
Gunshots echoed through the halls as the containment pod lifted back into the Zephyr, the a frantically screaming Fitz as well as Piper locked inside. “They won’t listen to me!” Fitz screamed, his voice barely sounding muffled by the unit. “She’s going to kill us all!”   
“What is he talking about?” Talbot growled.  
“May! You’re the only one who knows the truth about the Inhumans we tested!” Fitz cried out as May’s concern colored her face. She then took off towards the cockpit to take off, as the guards lifted their guns towards her. Daisy then lifted her hands toward Talbot, ready to blast him with a quake.   
“Go ahead and try it, let’s see what happens,” Daisy threatened as Talbot motioned for his soldiers to put their guns down. The Zephyr engines roared to life, as Coulson took control of the situation.   
“Put the guns down and you can come with us. But you better know, the Zephyr is leaving with or without you,” Coulson was firm, his expression completely serious.   
“Fall back,” Talbot said as the soldiers adhered quickly. They all turned to leave the Zephyr, as Coulson shrugged.   
“Your loss,” he said as he closed the hatch. “Hey, did anyone have eyes on Yo-yo durning all of that?”   
“Oh no!” Daisy gasped as her and Coulson ran to the lab.   
Mick slowly followed, pausing to see Fitz clearly upset in the containment pod. He walked in, sitting beside his distraught friend, with Jemma taking the other side. The barrier holding back Fitz’s tears shattered as he leaned on Jemma, almost instinctively. Mick sat beside him, with an arm rubbing his back, hearing the sobs, and seeing the same look of tear filled pain on Jemma’s face as well. “We’re going to make this right, it’s what we do.” Mick wanted to believe his words, he hoped that this was the case. Maybe one day things could be okay, but that day seemed so very far away, almost always out of reach.


	13. World’s End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s a race against time now! Coulson and the team need to find a way to stop Aida all the while, trying to buy enough time to hope that Mack will leave the Framework with Yo-yo. Can they put an end to this nightmare before Aida can complete rewrite the world?

“You’re right, I should’ve thrown Mack in,” Mick admitted as Daisy glowered furiously beside the monitors showing Yo-up’s vitals.   
“He would’ve resented you for that,” Daisy groaned.   
“But at least no one would be in that hell,” Mick said.   
“Well if my plan works, I can manipulate the Framework and guide Yo-yo to Mack and get them both out,” Daisy said frantically typing on her laptop.   
“What exactly are you planning Skye?” Mick said as Daisy turned to him glowering. “Daisy. Sorry!”   
“I get it, I was Skye again in there,” she moaned. “And you were with that Sam girl.”  
“Can we not talk about that,” Mick frowned, knowing Sam was alive in the Framework was bad enough, but knowing he couldn’t bring her to this world made it worse. Even more painful, it seemed to splinter the relationship he had been trying to build with Daisy.   
“Sorry,” Daisy snapped, she then slammed her hands on the table. “Why does this keep happening?”   
“The Framework is collapsing!” Jemma rushed in the room surprising both Mick and Daisy.   
“How is that possible?” Mick asked frantically.   
“Aida,” Jemma said as Coulson walked in staring at the trio curiously. They quickly caught him up to speed, before Coulson left with Jemma.   
“Surely you can stop this?” Mick said as Daisy frowned.   
“I don’t know, but you can bet I’m going to try,” Daisy said firmly.   
“I’ll do what I can to help,” Fitz walked into the room, still quite upset.   
“Then I’ll leave you to it. I’m clearly no help here,” Mick said, turning toward the door.   
“No way,” Daisy gasped as an alert popped up on her computer.  
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Mick turned to her.   
“Robbie Reyes just took back his car from a SHIELD facility,” she said as Fitz seemed surprised to hear that.   
“Why did we have his car?” Mick asked as Daisy and Fitz shared a look.   
“I’ll explain, you go tell Coulson,” Fitz said as Daisy walked out hastily. “What’s the last thing you remember before the Framework?”  
“Besides Aida attacking me?” Mick said almost sarcastically. “We were prepping to get Daisy back from Los Angeles, but you and I were going to watch a soccer game at Doctor Radcliffe’s because you insisted that if I’d just give it a try, I’d enjoy it.”   
“Huh? You actually showed up to watch a game with us?” Fitz seemed rather surprised.  
“I even brought typical football food, wings, nacho’s soda’s. I really wanted to give it a try,” Mick said as Fitz shook his head.   
“That explains where Aida got the food from. So the you missed all of the LMD’s!” Fitz exclaimed as Mick raised a brow. “Sorry, Life Model Decoy’s.”   
“Okay, so that’s what Coulson meant by the robots thing. I get it now,” Mick said as Fitz smiled.   
“You must’ve been one of the first people Aida trapped in the Framework,” Fitz seemed remorseful.  
“Probably,” Mick groaned as Coulson walked in.   
“Brace yourselves, Daisy is going to get Reyes,” Coulson informed them as Mick frowned.   
“Why would we want Ghost Rider on the Zepher? I thought that thing was bad?” Mick said bitterly as Coulson seemed surprised at Mick’s confusion.   
“The Mick that was with us was an LMD,” Fitz said as Coulson nodded before leaving.   
“Figures,” Coulson said as the door closed.   
“So Ghost Rider is good?” Mick asked as Fitz semi-nodded.   
“Yeah and no,” Fitz took in a breath. “Reyes is good, Ghost Rider is neutral I guess. He helped us, then fell into a portal. We thought he was dead.”   
“So wait as second,” Mick growled as a stark realization hit him. “You guys didn’t realize I was a freaking robot!”   
“Well, it was very convincing,” Fitz smiled sheepishly. “Aida even installed a web shooter in it’s wrists.”   
Mick simply glowered, until he remembered how Coulson said he was even tricked by May’s LMD. “That’s pretty smooth, I guess.”   
“Well, it wasn’t until he tried to kiss Daisy that we realized it wasn’t you,” Fitz said as Mick’s face dropped.  
“What?”   
“Jemma and I had a hunch based on how open you were about those feelings, but we just thought.”  
“My robot clone tried to kiss Daisy?” Mick’s heart raced.   
“She quaked it away!”   
“That doesn’t make me feel any better!” Mick was furious, but not at his friends. It did make him wonder about that kiss he thought he felt when leaving the Framework though. Was it just a trick of the Framework or did they actually kiss? So many questions, but now wasn’t quite the time for the answers. Now they had to focus on saving Mack and Yo-yo and stopping Aida. 

Mick joined Coulson, Daisy, May, and Reyes as they left on a quinjet to seek out General Talbot who had not been answering his phone. “Turns out our new LMD was named, Sergei Mishkin. He’s a senior Russian analyst that was invited to the SHIELD inquiry today,” May sounded quite aggravated, like normal.   
“Great,” Coulson hung up his phone, rolling his eyes in annoyance, then looked at his makeshift team. “Still no answer.”   
“Why would Aida want someone like that?” Mick asked looking at Coulson for answers.   
“She’s crazy?” Daisy said wittily.  
“Probably to drive the final nail in SHIELD’s coffin. If this hearing goes south we’ll all be disavowed,” Coulson sighed.   
“And that would leave us completely vulnerable to Aida,” May added.   
“That would open up such chaos in the world, no one would know what to do,” Mick realized.  
“You just thought the Sokovia was a harsh reminder, just wait until people find out just how helpless they are against the dangers of the universe,” Daisy said solemnly.   
“That’s one reason why we have to stop this now,” Coulson said as May returned to the pilots seat, landing the quinjet.   
Everyone at the UN building was in an uproar, media personnel mixed with terrified employees.   
“What’s going on?” Mick asked as Coulson analyzed the situation quickly.   
“We may be too late,” he said before taking off in a sprint, with everyone quick on his trail.  
There were numerous armed soldiers shot and killed with incredible precision. “This is real bad,” Coulson remarked, checking on for a pulse. “We need to find out who did this, May, you’re with me.” Coulson and May split off the group going down one hallway, leaving Mick, Daisy, and Reyes down the other. Gun fire continued to echo through the halls as they reached another branch.   
“Go, I’ll check this side,” Reyes motioned Mick and Daisy right. Without any arguments they split once again. Mick and Daisy reached an open storage room with Aida standing beside a girl looking exactly like Daisy, and beside her, one that resembled Mick. Two other men stood back behind them, clearly awaiting orders.   
“Aida!” Mick snarled as he and Daisy stood side by side.   
“I was hoping I’d get to see you both. See, Daisy left me with so much extra time on my hands when she shattered my spine, I began plotting the perfect way to kill her,”   
“Seriously? Therapy, you really need it,” Daisy snapped as Aida smiled darkly.   
“I think the best way to have you killed, would be to watch you kill yourself,” Aida motioned and the two doppelgängers looked up at Mick and Daisy.   
“Any plans for this?” Mick asked.   
“Just break them,” Daisy said attempting to quake her foe. The doppelgänger met her quake with a replicated version, as the doppelgänger Mick shot webs at Daisy.   
“Oh no you don’t!” Mick quickly ripped his saber from it’s hilt, flicked the blade, causing it to spark wildly with the electric current running through it. He then swung it into the doppelgängers face, ripping the flesh from it’s face, singeing the remnant over it’s eyes.   
“You don’t think I’m just going to let you win do you?” Aida warped behind Mick, taunting him, only to gasp as a firey chain ripped through the Mick LMD.   
“No one said stopping you is going to be easy!” Mick swung only to see the black mist left from Aida teleporting. He then saw Daisy being choked by her LMD, and without hesitation he lunged, stabbing the fake through the head, watching as it shorted out while collapsing to the floor.   
“Thanks,” Daisy sighed, as they turned to see Reyes ripping apart one of the guards, which also turned out to be an LMD. “I didn’t expect her to replicate our powers too.”   
“I did, only because Fitz told me mine had web shooters,” Mick smiled helping Daisy up.   
“Yeah, about that,” Daisy started as Mishkin walked in with blood covering the his shirt and suit pants.   
“We can discuss it later,” Mick said, bracing for another fight.   
Mishkin then picked up an iron pipe from one of the racks, the slowly eased toward the duo. “Seriously? That all you go?” Daisy taunted as the LMD smirked darkly.   
“I got this one,” Mick raised his blade, clashing with the rod as the LMD began backing up.   
“We’ve got company!” Daisy called out as guards began to charge into the room.   
“Perfect!” Mick growled as sparks flew from the blade clashing with the iron rod.   
“You know you’re all going to die,” Mishkin growled in his think Russian accent, kicking at Mick while the two weapons clashed.   
“Eh, maybe one day, but this ain’t my day!” Mick said, shooting webs in the man’s face, then using the brief moment of shock to decapitate his foe.   
Mick turned around to see Ivanov flipping in the air, surrounded by the blazing chain of the Ghost Rider, then his body quaked apart mid air. “Dang, that was pretty cool,” Mick said as Daisy smirked.   
“Don’t tell me I missed it,” Coulson grumbled as he walked in the door to see the dismembered LMD’s.   
“Oh you missed it alright,” Mick smirked. 

Just as quickly as they entered the building, they returned to the Zephyr, all seeming to piece together the bits of information needed to stop Aida. Once onboard, Fitz and Simmons joined everyone in the hold. “What do we know?” Coulson asked as Daisy groaned.   
“That Aida has charged LMD’s that looks like me, that she’s going to use to assassinate anyone who tries to stop her,” she was clearly frustrated.  
“And that’s all she’ll need to put an end to SHIELD,” May added solemnly.  
“It’s worse than that,” Coulson said as he paced the floor. “Daisy is an Inhuman.”   
“Which is going to not only rip apart SHIELD but cause distrust in Inhumans as well!” Jemma said in a panic.   
“It’ll be just like it was in the Framework,” Mick gasped.   
“Not if we can stop her,” Coulson said boldly. “That’s the part we need to focus on.”  
“Well, she’s clearly afraid of Reyes,” Mick said looking at the man, leaning on his car’s hood.   
“She vanished as soon as she saw his blazing chain,” Daisy said as she and Mick smirked.   
“Does that mean you can kill her?” Coulson asked as Reyes shrugged.   
“She’s not going to let me get close enough to find out,” Reyes admitted.   
“Then we make her come to us,” Coulson said with a mischievous tone.   
“How do you intend on doing that?” May asked.  
“We’ll use the Darkhold as bait,” Coulson said confidently, as Reyes looked like he wanted to object.   
“That’s all well and good, Sir. But the Zephyr is running low on power,” Jemma said catching everyone’s attention.   
“Then we need to head back to base,” Coulson said firmly.   
“They’ll have the whole army there waiting for us!” Mick snapped.   
“Or worse, Aida and her LMD’s,” Daisy added.   
“Don’t care. I’m tired of playing defense,” Coulson sounded annoyed. “May, bring us home.”   
“This is a stupid plan,” May groaned as she walked off.   
“Reyes, does that thing inside you want to kill Aida as bad as we do?” Coulson asked as Reyes shrugged once more.  
“I guess so, why?” Robbie asked curiously.  
“Then I may have more than just one plan. Come on, let’s talk,” Coulson led Reyes up into the Zephyr.   
“I’m going check on Mack and Yo-to. We’re running out of time fast,” Daisy said as Mick watched her leave.   
“Maybe we could build another back door?” Fitz suggested.   
“That may just work!” Daisy cheered.   
“Think you two can help me with the makeshift servers?” Fitz asked as Mick and Jemma both nodded.   
“Great! I’ll be upstairs!” Daisy ran off leaving Mick, Jemma, and Fitz alone.   
“Sit tight, I’ve got one thing to do before we can head to the servers,” Jemma smirked as Mick stared curiously, but was given no answers. 

After a few moments, Jemma and Fitz returned, then lead Mick into the storage compartment where they built the backdoor server for the Framework. “Make sure you bolt the door,” Fitz said as Mick glanced skeptically.   
“Uh, okay?” Mick seems quite confused, being that Aida could teleport.   
“He’s not stupid, Fitz,” Jemma said with a smile.  
“We need to reroute a few of these circuits, hopefully that’ll buy Yo-yo some time to convince Mack to leave,” Fitz said disconnecting a few of the oversized wires and shuffling them around.   
“How is that supposed to stop Aida?” Mick asked as Jemma shrugged, while Fitz concentrated on his rewiring.   
“This was all Fitz’s idea,” Jemma said as she began to shuffle around the wires. A black mist appeared, followed by Aida herself with a devilish smile.   
“Then it must’ve been a killer,” Aida snarled as everyone gasped in horror.   
“Okay, this isn’t how I saw this going,” Fitz admitted as he set the wires down, turning to Aida. “Remember what we said before?”   
“What, how there isn’t room in your heart for me?” Her voice was much darker, more intimidating now.   
“No!” Fitz stammered. “No, that being human sometimes.”  
“Means I’d feel pain?” Aida interrupted. “That I’ll suffer?” She began walking towards Fitz, only for him to ease toward the door. “I’m catching onto that quite quickly. It’s no wonder humans have written so many sad songs.”   
“That’s a perfect example!” Fitz stammered once more. “We use emotions like sadness to enrich our music, or art!”  
“How about smashing heads on the floor?” Aida growled as she turned toward Jemma. “I prefer that.”   
“Ophellia, I’m sure it’s overwhelming feeing everything all at once!” Fitz reached out as if to stop Aida, who turned to him for a moment.   
“Oh it is,” Aida admitted coldly. “That’s why I chose to only focus on one. Vengeance.”   
“Jemma move!” Mick drew his blade as it crackled to life. Aida turned to him with a viscous smile, then warped, slamming her fist into Mick’s stomach, then snatching his blade as if fell from his hand. She then moved at blinding speed, placing the blade near Jemma’s throat.   
“My vengeance is going to make you suffer, just like you made me!” Aida sneered, then impaled Jemma through the center of her chest.   
“No!” Fitz screamed as he dropped to his knees.   
“Jemma!” Mick cried out reaching for Jemma.   
“I will do whatever you want! Please just stop!” Fitz cried as Aida smirked.   
“Why does it feel so good to make someone else suffer?” Aida asked callously.   
“Because you’re a psycho,” Jemma struggled to say, only for Aida to press the blade farther into her chest, causing her immense amounts of pain judging by her groans.   
“I wouldn’t think about it Bellouve,” Aida turned so Mick could see the blood creeping out of Jemma’s chest, which caused him hastily to rethink trying to attacks her.   
“Please, Ophellia, spare Jemma, please,” Fitz begged.   
“Oh Fitz, I’m afraid you’re going to have to do better than that,” Aida turned back to Fitz, twisting the blade as Jemma whimpered in pain.   
“The Darkhold!” Fitz exclaimed as Aida raised a brow. “That’s the only way we can beat you. If you spare her, I’ll go get if for you!”  
Aida glowered, seeming to contemplate the offer.   
“No! We can’t!” Mick cried out, only for Aida to growled.   
“Fitz,” Jemma said weakly. “You did this.”   
Fitz hung his head, face full of remorse. “I know,” he admitted. “I’m so sorry Jemma.”   
“Enough!” Aida screamed. She then released the blade, holding her arm out, blasting Jemma with a fierce electric blast. Jemma’s body contorted as she collapsed to the ground, lifeless.   
Fitz then fell to his knees, pulling Jemma close as Mick watched in absolute horror. Mick then instinctively lunged at Aida, only for her to warp behind him, slamming him headfirst into the server with incredible force. She then tossed him to the floor, his mind reeling from the impact. He could feel the blood dripping down from his forehead, but couldn’t move.   
“I am going to kill everyone you love, right in front of you,” Aida growled. “And there is nothing you can do about it.”   
Everything was silent for a moment, then Mick felt Fitz’s hand on his back. “You okay?”   
Mick moaned as his body unwillingly responded to his nod. “What about Jemma?”   
“Oh? Yeah that’s not Jemma,” Fitz said as Mick stared at him.   
“What?” Mick asked as Fitz helped him up.   
“That was an LMD. We just needed to make Aida think that was the real Jemma,” Fitz smiled as Mick rubbed his aching head.   
“And you couldn’t let me in on that?”   
“You’re not a very good actor,” Fitz teased as Mick frowned. “Come on! We’ve got to get to the others!”   
“Can I at least take some pain relievers first?” Mick asked as Fitz smiled.   
“Make it quick,” Fitz jested. “We need to be there just in case.” 

Mick and Fitz reached the teleporter room just in time to see Ghost Rider toss Aida’s now lifeless burned body aside, which caused it to crumble into a cloud of dust. The power of the Rider faded, only for Mick to gasp at the sight of Coulson. “What the heck?” Mick asked in dismay.  
“We needed a way to end her, she would’ve run from Reyes, so I made a deal with the Rider,” Coulson explained as Mick shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around all the trickery.   
“So let me guess, Mack isn’t really trapped in the framework still?” Mick snapped.  
“No, that’s very much real. Speaking of, we should check on that,” Coulson said walking away before Mick could object.  
“I need to sit down for a minute,” Mick rubbed his head before slumping against the wall.   
“I’ll go get the others, think you can prep the gate for Robbie?” Fitz asked Jemma, who responded with a nod. 

“Sorry about all of the tricks, but we needed a fail proof plan,” Jemma said as Mick watched her work with his mind still struggling to accept everything.   
“Just wish you guys would’ve clued me in on something,” Mick groaned. “Maybe it would’ve saved me a concussion.”   
“At least you made it more realistic,” Jemma turned to him with a sheepish smile. “I was honestly worried Fitz wouldn’t be able to sell it alone.”   
“Thanks, I guess,” Mick smiled. “What else needs to be done?”   
“Not much, it just needs to charge now,” Jemma walked over to Mick, brushing his hair away from the now bruising cut. 

The others began to trickle in as Mick and Jemma stood beside the gateway. Daisy smiled at Mick, seeing the swole cut and bruise above his right eye. Coulson walked in, with May and Reyes behind them. Coulson then grabbed the Darkhold from the small table beside the gate then walked over towards Reyes.   
“Do you really have to go so soon?” Daisy asked with a frown. Mick’s face turned to stone. Did she have feelings for him now?  
“Yeah, the book needs to be somewhere safe,” Reyes said, looking over the whole team with a half smile before looking solely at Daisy. “Keep an eye out for my brother?” Daisy simply smiled and nodded.   
“The gateway should almost be ready,” Jemma said as Reyes looked at her.   
“Don’t need it,” he said unwrapping the chain around his shoulder. “Learned a few tricks since I saw you guys last.” He began spinning his chain around as it burst into flames. After a few circles a portal to a very bleak looking world appeared before him. Everyone was quite impressed with this new found ability, as Coulson stepped forward. He then handed the book off to Reyes. “I don’t envy you,” Reyes said eyes fixed on Coulson.   
“I was going to say the same thing,” Coulson responded.  
Reyes took the book, then faced the portal. He seemed to hesitate briefly before looking over his shoulder at Daisy, then toward the others, stopping at Mick. He nodded for a moment, then stepped through, the portal fading almost immediately.   
“What did he mean by that?” May asked as Coulson spun around. He clearly wanted to respond, only to be cut off by Mack walking in with Yo-up at his side.   
“We got some chatter on the comms,” Mack glanced around the room. “Seems like Talbot survived, he’s just in a coma.”  
“Bad news is, they know we’re here, and they’re coming for us,” Yo-yo said grimly.   
“Then you should all go,” Fitz said with a sigh, everyone turning to him shaking their heads.   
“Not a chance bud,” Mick said as Coulson nodded in agreement.   
“We’re all going,” Coulson said as Fitz shook his head.   
“No, this is all my fault,” he started. “Aida, the LMD’s, all of it. I can explain it all and give you the chance to keep on. I can even explain the framework.”  
“No,” Daisy said firmly. “We all went through this together.”  
“You’re not carrying this on your own just because of who you were in the framework,” Mick injected.   
“That place messed us all up,” Coulson said with a smile.  
“But not even that could tear us apart,” Mick said smiling.   
“One thing I know, better than anything else,” Daisy smiled. “We’re always in this together.” She paused. “I tried running away, thinking I could protect you guys, but you never quit on me. You kept chasing me until I finally realized how much I needed all of you. You don’t get to run away to protect us now.”  
“You don’t owe us an apology Fitz,” Mick said as he stepped up to his friend, everyone nodding in agreement as Fitz seemed quite surprised by this.   
“If there’s a price to pay, then we’ll pay it together,” May said firmly.  
“I’m in,” Jemma said with a smile, while the other nodded.   
“Not to ruin the moment, but is anyone else hungry?” Coulson smiled.   
It didn’t take long for everyone to load up, and head off to a small diner that the team would frequently visit. Rae’s Restaurant was surprisingly empty for this time of night. Mick sat beside Daisy, who seemed quite pleased by this. “This is the first time we’ve all sat down together in quite a while,” Coulson acknowledged as everyone nodded with a smile. “Don’t be shy, they’re going to find us right after I swipe the card, so you should make this meal a good one.”   
“No problem boss,” Mick said carelessly as everyone chuckled.   
“You up for our little conversation?” Daisy nudged Mick as he looked at her curiously.   
“What did you want to talk about?” Mick smirked.   
“Did you know that your LMD tried to kiss me?” Daisy asked with a playful grin.  
“I may have heard about that,” Mick played along.   
“From what I understand, those were made based on our personalities.  
“That’s what I understand.”  
“Does that mean you,” Daisy paused as she tilted her head and smiled. “Actually want to kiss me?”   
“That depends,” Mick smirked, his heart fluttering wildly. “I’ll answer your question with a question. Did you kiss me as we left the framework?”   
Daisy seemed to blush as her smile widened. “Maybe.”   
Before their little game could continue, the lights went out. Bright lights then shot through the windows behind them. “Here we go,” Coulson sighed as everyone nodded. They had discussed how to handle this moment, simply surrender. So Mick grabbed Daisy’s hand and they both lifted them up. He couldn’t help but smile as Daisy didn’t pull away.   
“Phillip J. Coulson?” A strange voice came from behind them, as heavily armed soldiers could be heard lining up behind them.   
“Yup,” Coulson said in amusement. “Cutting the power, nice touch. Makes everything seem so ominous.”   
Mick took in a deep breath, knowing that despite their changing relationship, he’d be pulled away from Daisy for a while. “I will be right beside you until the end,” Mick said softly, only to hear a loud buzzing sound, come from behind him, followed by silence.


End file.
